Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1546363
13 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 30 AUGUST 2026 NEWS Italian merchant accused of fraud flees, leaving customers doorless They went to Birżebbuġa, they saw and bought their doors. But now, the merchant, Giuseppe Fiore, is nowhere to be found SOMETIME around Sep- tember 2025, Giuseppe Fiore climbed into his rented, but unpaid-for, BMW 320 and hit the road to Sicily. With him, he probably took around €30,000 worth of assets allegedly obtained through de- ceit. Behind him, Fiore left numer- ous clients waiting for doors they paid for but never received; a car dealership that had been waiting over a year for €9,500, and, of course, the BMW; two empty, and also allegedly un- paid-for, rented properties in Birżebbuġa; a construction company that lost €5,000 worth of equipment; and an Italian company that was robbed of €15,000 and a strangely large number of doors. Fiore's trail begins at a Sicilian door company called Fil Porte, where he allegedly ordered and received €15,000 worth of doors without ever paying a cent. After the company issued an invoice, Fiore "disappeared without a trace," and any at- tempts to track him down proved unsuccessful. It's unclear how many doors €15,000 got him, but it's a fair amount. Anyway, it was appar- ently enough to start a fraud- ulent door company in Malta, and that's what mattered to Fiore. "We never thought a Sicil- ian would scam us like this," Fil Porte said when contacted. Anyway, Fiore didn't leave with just the doors. He also took a number of Fil Porte's company brochures. That'll become rele- vant later. Fiore then made his way down to Malta, specifically Triq Sant' Anġlu in Birżebbuġa, where he opened his own door shop, which he also decided to call Fil Porte. He even had a company shirt printed to complete the look. Of course, looking the part required more than a compa- ny shirt. So, Fiore walked into a car dealership and signed a contract for a BMW 320. Not bad, right? And, you guessed it, he never paid the €9,500 he owed for the car either. "He kept saying he was com- ing to pay," the dealership re- called when contacted. "But he never did." The dealership filed a police report, but officers were unable to act because the matter was considered a civil case. With his roughly 10sq.m store, €15,000 worth of doors, a BMW, a Fil Porte shirt, and a stack of brochures, Fiore was ready for business. And business went pretty well, for a while, at least. Prospective customers would wander into the tiny shop to browse Fiore's doors. Some even placed or- ders. But, as had become some- thing of a pattern, Fiore's end of the bargain never arrived. However, back in Sicily, Fil Porte had not heard the last of Fiore. Every few days, the com- pany began receiving calls from people asking whether Fiore had actually placed orders for the doors they had bought from him. The callers said they had paid Fiore deposits, and, in some cases, the full amount, for doors that were never deliv- ered. He was even handing out Fil Porte's brochures. At that point, it clicked: Fiore was presenting himself as the company's representative in Malta when he was not. Fil Porte reported the mat- ter to both the Italian author- ities and the Maltese police. "We told them everything," the company said, but it is still waiting to hear back. "I don't know where [Fiore] is, otherwise I would have gone to get him myself," the owner said. "This person took money from my children. We trusted him." At the same time, being the business-savvy man that he is, Fiore took on a second job as an installer with a private con- tractor, who gave him work for around a year and a half. A few blissful months passed in Birżebbuġa, for Fiore at least, before customers start- ed getting angry. Very angry. Eventually, some decided to go straight to his door shop and find out where the hell their doors were. But when they arrived, the tiny store on Triq Sant' Anġ- lu was empty. Fiore was gone. And so were the doors. And his customers were not the only ones left looking for him. The car dealership lost all contact with Fiore and never saw its BMW again. The con- tractor who had employed him got blocked, while Fiore also disappeared with €5,500 worth of the company's equipment. A shop a few doors down, whose relationship with Fiore remains unclear, is also quite frazzled about the whole affair. "Why do you think I have an- ything to do with him? What are you supposed to do if you see him? Beat him up? Do you really think the police can help you? Forget about the money. The police can't get your mon- ey back. The best thing you can do is just forget about it. No one is getting their money back. He is gone," the owner said when contacted. And that was all they had to say about Giuseppe Fiore. Based on his TikTok account, which is extremely entertain- ing, it appears that Fiore is back in Sicily. Funnily enough, one of his most recent posts is a selfie taken in what just might be the marina in Palermo. Meanwhile, several Maltese customers have been left fum- ing and doorless as Fiore takes his 'business' elsewhere. EVA BRANNON ebrannon@mediatoday.com.mt Merchant Giuseppe Fiore 'I don't know where [Fiore] is, otherwise I would have gone to get him myself," the owner said. "This person took money from my children. We trusted him.'