Four greedy and heartless scumbags who intimidated elderly victims into paying exorbitant sums for unnecessary building work on their homes have been banged up.
The Irish foursome delivered bogus legal threats and vandalised their victims’ properties while demanding thousands of pounds in cash from the vulnerable targets.
They are: Peter Gilheney, 27, of Bellflower Path, Romford, Essex (pic.l.) who received seven years.
Patrick O’Driscoll, 36, of Brookes Place, Barnet Road, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire (pic.2nd l.) who received two-and-a-half years.
James Casey, 30, of Brookes Place, Barnet Road, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire (pic.3rd l.) who received two years.
Francis Dunne, 24, of Bashley Road, Willesden, North-West London (pic.r.) who received two-and-a-half years.
The scam was identified following a proactive operation by the Metropolitan Police’s London Crime Squad in conjunction with Trading Standards Regional Fraud Unit (Scambusters).
All four pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation when they appeared at Maidstone Crown Court.
They were arrested in April by officers who had carried out an undercover investigation after receiving intelligence that the gang were targeting the homes of elderly vulnerable people, falsely claiming that they required urgent and expensive repair work to their properties.
On December 3, last year a vulnerable 79-year-old woman received a telephone call from a man who said he was working in the local area and had noticed a problem with the guttering at her home in Dawes Road, Fulham, South-West London.
Four days later a man turned up and told the occupant work was required to her guttering and fascia boards and a second inspection was arranged for the next day.
All four of the defendants attended the address and Gilheney and Dunne climbed on to the roof and Dunne was seen damaging the guttering and brickwork.
The occupant was told the parapet wall was in a dangerous state and that masonry could fall into the street and kill someone.
The victim was told the repair work would cost up to £10,000 and was persuaded to pay £5,000 but she was only able to obtain £2,000 in funds, which she paid to O'Driscoll.
As part of the investigation a chartered surveyor visited the property and said the damage could only have been caused deliberately and not by normal weathering or wear and tear.
In addition, he said the work required would cost in the region of £3,000, considerably lower than she had been quoted.
The gang had attempted a similar scam on December 2 when they attended an address belonging to a vulnerable 63-year-old man in Queens Park Road, Harold Wood, Essex.
They asked the occupant if he would like his driveway re-laid and when he declined, they were extremely persistent and to get rid of them the owner agreed to an appointment two days later.
On that day, the four defendants returned and O'Driscoll attempted to persuade the occupant to have an external wall damp survey completed.
O'Driscoll told him it was a legal requirement and if he did not have the work done his boss would take legal action against him.
Once again, during the investigation a chartered surveyor examined the property and said there was nothing to suggest the work needed doing.
He also stated that he was not aware of any legal requirement requiring a damp proof course.
Detective Inspector John Cracknell, from the London Crime Squad (North), said: “These sentences show that preying on vulnerable members of the community will not be tolerated by the MPS.
“The London Crime Squad will continue to disrupt criminal networks through intelligence-led policing operations.
John Peerless, project manager for SCAMBUSTERS said: “This is an excellent example of joint working.
“My team were formed to tackle these types of crime, primarily supporting Local Authority Trading Standards Services but because of the overlap in responsibilities have formed extensive relationships with the police.
These sentences send out a strong message to the doorstep criminal that the targeting of vulnerable people in their own homes will not be tolerated.”
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