In the Dock: Rogue traders beware the CPS will prosecute you

No one likes to feel they have been conned out of their money. Unfortunately, there are plenty of situations where people become the victims of a scam, a dishonest or fraudulent scheme designed to cheat someone. It could be anything from buying products or services to making investments or becoming involved in apparently failsafe business propositions.

Unfortunately for the criminals who perpetrate them, the CPS and police are working very effectively together to make sure they do not get away with such offences, as the following recent examples show:

On 21 January, three criminal "builders" based in Gloucester who made £1 million by conning 50 householders across the south of England received sentences totalling more than 18 years at Bristol Crown Court. Nicholas Harris, Mark Dixon and Matthew Higgins took customers deposits but did not complete a single job.

Claiming to specialise in one or two storey extensions, they asked for a deposit of at least 10 percent. The references provided were either from someone whose work had just started or were simply falsified. When victims challenged them over the lack of progress, they were often threatened with legal action for breach of contract. Further money was demanded for "completion" of the works, none of which were finished. One victim from Newent paid over £11,000 to the gang and a couple from Cirencester were persuaded to hand over in excess of £20,000.

This was a complex and lengthy investigation, but we worked closely with Gloucestershire Constabulary, Trading Standards and police forces from the other areas where they committed their crimes to ensure these men were brought to justice. We are now looking at how we can to confiscate cash and other assets funded by their criminal activity under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

In another recent example, five rogue traders from Gloucester and South Cerney were sentenced to a total of 19 years imprisonment last September after tricking elderly householders into paying thousands of pounds for shoddy or unnecessary work.

David Evans, his two sons Buddy and Shannon Evans, Patrick Maughan and Stephen Maloney targeted vulnerable older people with significant savings, telling them that repairs needed to be carried out on their homes.

The "improvements" were done badly or for grossly inflated prices and were often of such poor quality that further corrective work had to be carried out afterwards. The gang often returned to properties several times for extra money, with many of the 11 victims confused about the prices and the alleged faults. One victim in Dursley paid for them to fix an alleged block in her guttering, but the men claimed to have identified further problems and she was eventually persuaded to hand over in excess of £25,000.

Those affected came from all over Gloucestershire and collectively were defrauded of more than £190,000. As is usual in such cases, the defendants' finances are currently being thoroughly investigated under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

The CPS is determined to prosecute criminals who target vulnerable people in this way, using the full force of the law. Rogue traders will be proactively targeted and we will disrupt their activities at every opportunity.