A gang of cowboy builders who preyed on homeowners across England and Wales, defrauding them out of £1.2 million, have been sentenced after a major investigation led by North Yorkshire Council’s trading standard officers.
In one of the largest cases of its kind, more than 20, mostly elderly, people in North Yorkshire and further afield were deceived into allowing the gang to carry out work.
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.
In many cases, the work carried out by the gang was unnecessary, and customers were charged many times for the value of the jobs undertaken. Their homes were often left in a much worse state, requiring huge amounts of money to put them right.
Due to the number of defendants in the case, sentencing has been split over two hearings.
At Teesside Crown Court, Middlesbrough, on Friday the court handed down 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Stephen Cantello, 59, of Manchester, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder during his trial last year and received 17 months, suspended for two years.
A further six defendants are set to be sentenced at the end of the month.
Judge Howard Crowson said this had been a well-organised fraud, involving a large sum of money for little or no work.
He described it as “a wholly dishonest business”.
The court had heard Newbury Jnr was the ringleader of the gang. He and the other members put their victims through harrowing ordeals, with many thousands of pounds taken in the frauds.
As well as his custodial sentence, Newbury Jnr also received a 10-year criminal behaviour order, preventing him from cold calling or interacting with customers.
One victim in his 90s and who has since died was from Stokesley.
Initially, he was asked for £1,400 for building work to be carried out on his home and not long after a further £400. After handing over the cash, he was then asked for another £12,000 and was only prevented from writing out a cheque when a neighbour intervened.
According to a surveyor who inspected the property, the work carried out had no value at all.
In a victim impact statement, the man’s son said:
Dad didn’t open up about how he felt about things – indeed, he would internalise when things went wrong, so the effect of this offending could have been greater than I am aware.
However, I believe dad continued to dwell on the incident. He told me he wasn’t sleeping too well afterwards and it’s likely he became more prone to anxiety living on his own.
Dad lived a quiet life and mostly kept to himself but the stress of what had taken place would certainly not have aided his health.
These people are predators and should be ashamed. They are preying on vulnerable people and must be stopped and made to face the consequences of their actions.
Other victims lived in the Manchester area, London, Conwy and Wrexham in Wales, the West Midlands and Nottinghamshire.
One of the worst cases involved a couple in their 80s and 90s from Manchester. In 2020, they were approached by several of the defendants and told their home needed a new roof and rendering, for which they would be charged £70,000.
Work continued for several months with other jobs being undertaken and in total the couple handed over £365,000.
Having examined the work carried out, investigators said it was their belief the couple had been overcharged by £347,000. The court heard that if the house had been demolished and then rebuilt it would have only cost £265,000.
When the cost of all the cases was added up it is believed the gang benefited by around £1.2m from their crimes. Financial investigations are underway to recover as much of that money as possible so victims can be compensated.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for trading standards, Cllr Greg White, said:
This was an investigation that was huge in scale and complexity, but one which our trading standards team were determined to bring to a successful conclusion, and I commend their diligence and hard work.
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.
