A woman who accepted a “back door deal offer” of a flat screen television from a man whom she believed was a worker at appliance and furniture store Khemlani Mart, got the surprise of her life when she discovered that she had paid $11,000 for a box containing wood.

According to the complainant, she was in downtown Kingston on November 25, last year, when she was approached by Christopher Mais, who gave his name as Mike and told her that he was a worker at Khemlani Mart and could give her a flat screen TV set for $22,000.

The complainant accepted the offer and later that day was contacted by ‘Mike’ who told her to meet him at Torrington Bridge in Kingston to collect the television. She then met ‘Mike’ and paid him half of the money before he handed her a box in a garbage bag.

However, when the complainant went home and opened the box she found that it was packed with pieces of board. She then contacted ‘Mike’ but he hung up his phone and refused to answer subsequent calls.

The complainant said that she saw Mike again in downtown Kingston on December 23 and confronted him but he told her that he did not owe her anything. A fight then developed between them after which the complainant held on to Mais and dragged him to a nearby police station.

On Friday when the 30-year-old resident of Content Gap in St Andrew appeared in court he pleaded guilty to larceny by trick but told a different story.

According to him, his friend who worked at the store gave him the television wrapped in the box to sell. He said that it was after he sold it to the woman and she contacted him that his friend informed him that he had given him the wrong box with a television shell that is used for display.

“It wasn’t me of my own,” said Mais, while offering to compensate the complainant.

He was then remanded into custody for sentencing on Friday and for his relatives to bring the money.