CRIME GANG RAKED IN £1.2MILLION IN BUILDING WORK SCAMS

A gang of builders who preyed on 'vulnerable and elderly' homeowners across England and Wales to rake in a staggering £1.2million, have been jailed.

The victims, most of whom were pensioners, were told they needed urgent work done on their properties - for which they ended up overpaying.

Prosecuting the case at Teesside Crown Court, Jamie Hill KC said: 'The fraud involved failing to undertake those works or not undertaking them reasonably, overcharging for the works and then making representations they had been completed satisfactory.'

Operating in North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Manchester, North Wales, London and the West Midlands, the criminals were branded 'predators' by the son of one of the victims.

One case involved an elderly couple who were approached by the gang in 2020 and told they needed a new roof. They handed over an eye-watering £365,000.

A separate incident in Stokesley saw a 93-year-old pensioner cold-called by the thugs in June 2020.

The man was identified by the gang as an 'easy target' and told to pay up a whopping £1,400 for the building works - before being asked for a further £400.

But the shameless criminals did not stop there.

Prosecuter Mr Hill told the court: 'He made payment in cash to the males who attended his house and then he was suddenly asked for another £12,000. He was only prevented from writing out a cheque when a neighbour intervened.

'A surveyor looked at the property and said no work of any value had been carried out whatsoever.'

A victim impact statement from the 93-year-old's son was read out in court.

It said: 'Dad's innocence became more pronounced as he entered into his 90s. The people went to dad's home, took as far as I know around £1,400 then returned to try and take significantly more having clearly identified him as vulnerable and an easy target.'

The worried son wrote of how his father had not been sleeping well after being targeted by the ruthless scammers.

He said: 'I believe dad continued to dwell on the incident.

'It's likely he became more prone to anxiety living on his own.

'These people are predators and should be ashamed, they're preying on vulnerable people and must be stopped and made to face the consequences of their actions.'

Due to the sheer number of defendants involved in the case, sentencing has been split over two hearings.

Four members of the group John Mealin, Stephen Cantello, Lawrence Newbury Junior and Aonghus O'Reilly appeared at Teesside Crown Court on Friday.

Addressing the men, Judge Howard Crowson said: 'This well organised fraud targeted vulnerable victims. I think anybody with elderly residents dreads the possibility of their loved ones becoming convinced by the lies of rogue traders.

'You all demonstrated an ability to identify vulnerable targets and exploited them with no concern for them driven only by greed.

'Sometimes work was not done at all and sometimes work was done which was so incompetently performed it might have been better if it had not been started.

'Sometimes the sole purpose was to give the false impression that the work promised had been done when it had not.'

The men received the following sentences:

Lawrence Newbury Jnr, 33, of Northwich, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to convert criminal property and to being a member of an organised crime group. He was sentenced to seven years.

Stephen Cantello, 59, of Manchester, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder during his trial last year and received 17 months, suspended for two years.

Aonghus O'Reilly, 49, of no fixed abode, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to launder and was sentenced to three years.

John Mealin, 39, of Staindrop Street, Hartlepool, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. He received five years and three months for these and other unrelated offences.

A further six defendants are set to be sentenced at the end of the month.

The case, known as Operation Zagreb, involved years of painstaking work by North Yorkshire trading standards officers, working alongside councils and police forces across the country.

Councillor Greg White told of the investigation's 'huge scale and complexity'.

White, who serves North Yorkshire Council's executive member for trading standards, said: 'These men took advantage of the elderly and vulnerable, taking money the victims had worked hard for throughout their lives.

'The sentences handed down by the court reflect this callousness and should serve as a stark warning to others.'

2024-07-16T09:22:58Z dg43tfdfdgfd