Four people involved in a scam which conned elderly victims out of more than £750,000 by charging them vast sums for unnecessary home repairs have been jailed for more than 14 years.
The first offence in 2009 involved an 84-year-old victim from Fetcham who paid around £343,000 for unnecessary and substandard building work to her property. The financial strain caused her to sell furniture and borrow from friends to pay the fraudsters.
A number of other vulnerable residents were targeted with unsolicited approaches in Surrey, South London and the Thames Valley and persuaded that work needed doing on their properties. They were each coerced to part with large sums of money by cash and cheque which was laundered through the accounts of third parties.
Two of the victims, who were both in their 80s, lost their life savings after handing over totals of more than £300,000 each for shoddy building work that wasn't needed.
Steven Thompson, 41, of Perryfield Way, Richmond, Surrey, Matthew Smith (Snr), 52, of Whitehead Way, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire and Matthew Smith (Jnr) of the same address all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud between January 10, 2009 and January 21, 2012. Thompson and Smith (Snr) were both jailed for six years at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday, November 20.
Smith (Jnr) was given an 18 month sentence suspended for two years with a 12 month supervision order and 200 hours unpaid work.
Con Watson, 46, of Burleigh Road, Sutton, Surrey was found guilty of four counts of money laundering of a total value of £35,500 following a trial and was sentenced to 13 months in prison.
The last defendant, Joanne Green, 43, of Combermere Road, Morden, Surrey appeared at the same court today (Thursday 27 November) having previously pleaded guilty to five counts of money laundering of a total value of £105,400. She was jailed for 16 months.
Two further defendants were found not guilty following a trial.
Officers used evidence from banking documents to establish that the offences took place from on or before January 11, 2009 and January 20, 2012. As the same suspects were involved in each offence they were brought together to form one case.
The second victim was an 81-year-old man from Reading who lost his entire life savings and also took out a loan to pay around £377,000 for pointless and poor quality work to his roof between May 2010 and January 2012.
The third victim was a vulnerable 76-year-old woman from Shepperton who paid around £18,500 to the offenders in 2011 after being told work to her roof was required. Upon going to the bank to withdraw more funds after being told further payments were required staff intervened and called the police.
The fourth incident involved a 75-year-old victim who paid a £9,000 cash fee in 2011 for compensation for building work previously carried out on her Epsom home. She was then pushed into writing a cheque for £22,000 to make a claim against a builder's insurance company. Upon discovering that the office of the people handling the claim did not exist she cancelled the cheque.
The fifth and final offence took place in South Croydon in 2011. A 77-year-old man paid £6,000 for work to his roof. Several people went into the victim's loft but he was prevented from seeing what they were doing.
As part of the investigation it was established that work which was carried out, if at all, was of poor quality and in many cases not required. In some cases the victims were visited by further individuals who convinced them that they could claim compensation for unsatisfactory work on payment of further fees.
Fraud Investigator Sue Brothers said: "These were cold and calculated offences which were carried out by this gang who spotted an opportunity to prey on the elderly and vulnerable to deceive them out of a large sums of money.
"As well as financial loss, the trauma experienced by the victims cannot be underestimated and sadly, two of the victims have since died.
"Following the launch of the investigation, a number of extensive and complex enquiries were carried out and a number of suspects were identified and arrested.
"This investigation demonstrates our dedication and determination in the relentless pursuit of offenders and shows that we will not tolerate criminals committing such crime in Surrey.
"The hard work and effort invested into case has resulted in the removal of four very calculating and merciless people from our streets.
"This has been a long and complex investigation which has identified that the offenders travelled extensively to commit these crimes. The investigation has relied on the successful collaboration with Thames Valley Police and a number of other forces who have shared information and provided support.
"Fortunately on one occasion they did not get away with it thanks to the eagled-eyed staff at one of the victim's bank who quickly made us aware of what was happening.
"We would always ask friends, relatives and neighbours of vulnerable people to be vigilant on their behalf in these situations to stop them becoming a victim of crime."
"The victims in this case were conned into believing that the offenders were checking work which had previously been carried out on their property - I would urge people not to allow workmen into their home who make an unsolicited approach on the doorstep and to call Police or Trading Standards for advice if they have any concerns. Local Councils can provide details of the 'Buy With Confidence Scheme' for a list of reputable service providers."
Anyone wishing to report an incident should call 101 (999 in an emergency) or use the online reporting system found at http://www.surrey.police.uk/.
Alternatively the independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted on 0800 555 111.
![Four jailed for £750,000 home repair scam]( "Four jailed for £750,000 home repair scam")
