Rogue Traders Jailed For Scamming OAP Out Of £1.1m

Greed: Casey

Two rogue builders have each received eight years imprisonment for their plot to swindle an isolated WW2 veteran octogenarian out of his home and savings in a £1.1m scam.

Bachelor Henry James Bennett - known as ‘Jim’ - died aged 88 years-old in the Earlsfield house he had resided all his life and immediately the greedy duo tried to cash in.

Tony Casey, 34, of Brookes Place, Potters Bar and John O’Connor, 37, of Knatts Valley Homes, Sevenoaks, Kent both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud.

They had been employed by Mr. Bennett in the years before his death, with the pensioner withdrawing unexplained cash amounts totalling £32,500 from his bank in 2003.

Neighbours told police Casey and his associates would often take the pensioner, who worked for British manufacturer De La Rue until his retirement, to the bank.

Detective Constable Siobhan Cowlin said afterwards: “This was a truly horrible, calculated and predatory fraud investigation in which two men groomed and took full advantage of a vulnerable elderly man.

King Con: O'Connor

“Had it not been for a family member contacting the police then Casey and O’Connor might very well have got away with this crime.

“Although this investigation has taken years to complete, it was worth it to see these two men behind bars.”

Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court heard Mr. Bennett received £20,000 from O’Connor in 2007 for the freehold in exchange for a 21-year lease that allowed him to continue living at 51 Brookwood Road.

Prosecutor Mr. Nicholas Alexander said a company owned by John O’Connor provided the funds and the property was signed over to his brother Jeremiah before ownership was transferred to Casey.

Now the ‘landlord’ Casey put the property up for sale in June, 2015 for £949,000, with Mr. Bennett a sitting tenant.

Isolated Mr. Bennett, who did not even have a home phone died, on March 23, 2016 and two weeks later Casey had possession of his death certificate and was arranging the cheapest cremation he could find.

He told the funeral directors Mr. Bennett was his uncle, but changed his story and claimed he was his grandfather to locksmiths and a solicitor.

When the solicitor questioned the whereabouts of Casey’s father, potentially the next-of-kin, the defendant said he disappeared to Ireland twenty years ago and had not been seen or heard of since. 

Target: 51 Brookwood Road

Casey insisted on “low key” marketing of the property, but once the estate agents persuaded him to advertise on the internet it was spotted by Mr. Bennett’s second cousin in Dorset.

She began investigating after her Christmas card to Mr. Bennett was returned.

“I found out the house was on the market and I was shocked and surprised and very curious,” Linda Sutton told the jury.

“It was very upsetting the cremation had taken place and the ashes were still with the funeral directors,” added Mrs Sutton, who paid the £2,000 balance Casey had avoided.

She had only met Mr. Bennett once, back in 1990, but exchanged occasional letters with him and sometimes received calls via a public telephone.

“I was seeking to right the wrong,” said Mrs Sutton, who reported the house sale to police and was awarded the property in civil court, a judgement unsuccessfully challenged by Casey.

Casey says he was “treated like a grandson” by Mr. Bennett, who he gave “friendship and emotional support.”

He also claimed Mr. Bennett was of “sound mind” when the freehold was transferred.