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Six fraudsters who conned elderly residents out of £10.5 million for over-priced and often unnecessary home improvement work have been sentenced to a combined total of 22-and-a-half years in jail.

Many of the groups victims were elderly and vulnerable people in their 80s and 90s, with some of the most vulnerable repeatedly and cynically targeted.

Between 2014 and 2018, the fraudsters marketed and sold home improvement services via multiple companies, most often selling exterior wall and roof coating products they falsely claimed were ‘guaranteed’ to cure damp and significantly reduce heating bills.

The turnover of the businesses was £10.5 million. Initial contact was made with victims from a company call centre.

Six fraudsters who conned elderly residents out of £10.5 million for over-priced and often unnecessary home improvement work have been sentenced to a combined total of 22 and a half years at Nottingham Crown Court

Following the initial cold call, victims were visited by a sales rep in their home, where they were subjected to scare tactics and pressure selling. These included scare tactics about the condition of the customer’s property and the risks of not agreeing to sign a contract.

A total of 62 victims were identified, with many reporting feeling pressured into making a decision on the spot for a “today only” so-called bargain, whereas in reality, the price had been grossly inflated.

The fraudsters refused to refund customers’ money when they cancelled within their cancellation period.

Jason Rowan, aged 51, of Town End Road, Draycott; 55-year-old Stephen Tomlinson, of Dorchester Avenue, Derby; David Beeson, 53, of Bracknell Drive, Alvaston; 58-year-old Christopher Simpson, of Erdington Hall Road, Birmingham; Bohdan Zacharko. 69, of High Holborn, London; and 54-year-old Philip Eremenko, of Thistledown Road, Clifton, were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud at Nottingham Crown Court.

Tomlinson, Rowan and Zacharko were also found guilty of fraudulent trading, while Rowan was also found guilty of offences under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

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Rowan was jailed for seven years and banned from being a director for ten years, Tomlinson was jailed for four-and-a-half years and banned from being a director for five years. Beeson and Simpson were each jailed for three years, while Zacharko was sentenced to two-and-a-half years; prison and banned from being a director for five years, while Eremenko was jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Six fraudsters sentenced to 22-and-a-half years for £10.5 million home improvement scam