Plumbers conned the elderly out of money and bragged about it on WhatsApp – Derbyshire Live

A Derbyshire man has been jailed for his part in a scam which took money off elderly residents.

John Stott, 38, of Corporation Road, Ilkeston, Derbyshire, was jailed for two years after he and his accomplices gloated and congratulated one another in WhatsApp group messages, which glorified their "rip-off" trickery.

Details emerged in Leicester Crown Court of how some shoddy workmanship was not completed and damage was deliberately caused to create extra work, reports LeicestershireLive.

Shocked and distressed victims were often left with inflated bills, up to 10 times the real value, that they could ill-afford to pay.

Some victims felt intimidated into handing over hundreds of thousands of pounds for simple and straightforward jobs.

Adam Pearson, prosecuting, said one customer who phoned to complain was told: "We know where you live."

The court heard that a 92-year-old woman with a leaking bath tap ended up paying out 3,245 for unnecessary work- without the problem being fixed.

It included the fitting of a new bath, which the engineer had said he had had to break in order to access pipes.

The leak was not in fact under the bath.

The parts cost less than 450."

WhatsApp conversations at the time showed members of staff found that episode amusing

One customer was charged 1,554 in April 2017, for work which wrongly included making holes in the ceiling and upstairs floor to access pipes after a leak.

Another customer was charged 1,295 for a job involving a part costing 17.47.

Other examples included a woman who found her downstairs toilet and shower room flooded and ended up paying 595 for a 30-minute job estimated by an expert at 168.

And a 74-year-old woman was charged 510 for a door lock service that involved a 21.99 part and should have cost 100,

Another householder, aged 70, was charged 250 for a minor job to fix a toilet, using a part that cost 7.29.

Mr Pearson, said: "This case relates to two separate but closely-linked companies offering so-called emergency plumbing services Faster Response Ltd and Prestige Property Solutions (Midlands) Ltd also known as Prestige Property Solutions (UK) Ltd.

"Both companies were based in Leicestershire, but operated nationwide, run dishonestly to defraud their often elderly customers.

"Prestige effectively took over the business of Faster Response, when it ceased trading having been exposed as a rogue operation by a BBC Watchdog Rogue Traders programme."

Company boss, Russell Canfield, 44, ran the fraud with employees Stott, Benjamin Molloy, 33, Richard Jones, 38, Leighton Costello, 27, and Zackary Morgan, 21.

Each admitted two charges of fraudulent trading, between 2016 and 2018.

Accountant, Stephen Rice, joined Prestige in August 2017 and was briefly finance director for the following two months.

He admitted one count of fraudulent trading.

The court heard that Canfield's business partner, Liam Cuffe, who admitted his part in the scam was killed in a car crash in December.

Canfield, Cuffe, Molloy and Stott were were said to each be closely involved in the running of the companies either as director, shadow director or senior manager at various times.

Jones, Costello and Morgan were employed as plumbers and or engineers, for both firms, attending the homes of consumers and carrying out works of those that were defrauded.

Leicestershire County Council trading standards department, which prosecuted the fraudsters, received more than 150 complaints from customers during their inquiry.

From the evidence obtained from consumers, certain common themes emerged.

The complainants in this case were often, but not exclusively, elderly people seeking plumbing or locksmiths services.

Despite being based in Leicestershire, the companies advertised in editions of the Yellow Pages for many areas of the UK, and obtained local telephone numbers which gave the impression that they were based in that area.

Typically, after having carried out the work, the engineer would make a telephone call, usually out of earshot of the consumer, before returning with an inflated price.

The consumer is therefore confronted with a fait accompli, feeling that they are left with no option but to pay the price.

On occasions where a challenge was made to the price, the engineer refused to leave until payment was made.

Extracts of group WhatsApp conversations between various of the defendants were recovered from mobile devices seized during searches.

Mr Pearson said: "The tenor of the messages shows a marked contempt for consumers, and an awareness of the nature of the business they were carrying out.

"They were bragging about what they charged for work carried out."

Some plumbers or engineers asked to do sub-contract work wanted no part of the scam.

One contractor told to charge a customer 1,000 said he no longer wanted to be associated with the company.

He told the "stressed" customer, who became so unwell he went to hospital, that he was being "robbed" by Prestige.

A text message from another sub-contractor to Cuffe set out his view clearly: Just go away I will never work for you again ... ripping old people off.

Judge Nicholas Dean QC said: "Canfield and Cuffe are at the top of the level of culpability, relative to the others.

He said: "The customers who contacted the company were provided with a service of sorts, usually resulting in them being charged very significantly over the odds for very modest work.

"They were charged about 10 times what would otherwise be the going rate.

"Customers weren't told in advance of the work being done or the cost, even if they asked they weren't told.

"Work was sometimes carried out unsuccessfully and other work created.

The judge said during the offending period there was a turnover in excess of one million pounds, of which at least 750,000 was fraudulent.

He estimated that only about 100,000 of the income related to legitimate work.

The judge said: "A large number of individuals were defrauded out of sums they could ill afford.

"Faster Response activities were featured in a television programme which would have alerted the defendants to the extent of their improper actions.

"But they continued to do it with some degree of relish and enthusiasm."

Judge Dean said Canfield played "a leading role" and accepted he was "at the top of the tree."

He added: "There's evidence he was bullying towards one or more of the employees, mainly regarding Molloy.

He said that along with now deceased Cuffe, Canfield was a "controlling influence" and the "instigator" of the fraud.

The judge said Molloy had been groomed and bullied to an extent and may have been "psychologically vulnerable."

He added: "But it doesn't explain why he didn't desist."

The judge said Stott played a similar role to Molloy, on a lesser basis.

Jones, Costello and Morgan were said to have been complicit "with some degree of relish" in "ripping off customers," but it was mainly done under instruction from Canfield, Molloy and Stott, said the judge.

Rice was briefly finance director of Prestige Property Solutions and played "a limited role."

The judge said: "Most of the defendants are of previous good character and to some extent it was an aberration albeit prolonged.

What was said in mitigation?

Defence counsel said some of the defendants were under financial pressure as sole providers for their families and all now regretted their actions.

Most had no previous convictions and had been carrying out orders under Cuffe and Canfield's directions.

Canfield accepted he had been motivated by "greed."

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Morgan, the youngest, had been in an apprenticeship at the time and was "naive."

It was "a shock" when he was featured on television.

It was pointed out that despite many complaints, clients of all ages responded to a trading standards survey saying they were happy with the work.

The prosecution did not dispute there were some satisfied customers.

Canfield of Groby, Leicestershire, was jailed three years and four months.

He was banned from holding a company directorship for seven years and now faces a proceeds of crime hearing where he could have any assets confiscated.

Molloy, of Laxton Close, Melton, was jailed for two years and three months.

Rice, of William Street, Nottingham, was given a 15 month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with 200 hours of unpaid work.

Jones, of Glen Park Avenue, Glenfield, Morgan, of Borrowcup Close, Countesthorpe, Leicestershire, and Costello, of Cort Crescent, Braunstone, Leicester, each received 15 month jail sentences, suspended for two years, with 200 hours of unpaid work.

Gary Connors, head of the county council's regulatory services, said afterwards: "These defendants all had their part to play in an emergency call out business which was set up from the outset to extract substantial sums of money, primarily from the elderly and vulnerable.

"A widespread and despicable fraud perpetrated across the country, despite previous undertakings given to trading standards to trade fairly and a subsequent expose on BBC Watchdog.

"The top down culture was about exploiting the 'call out' scenario to extract the maximum payment from victims, regardless of the true cost or necessity for a repair.

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Plumbers conned the elderly out of money and bragged about it on WhatsApp - Derbyshire Live