A ROGUE trader who “preyed” on his 87-year-old victim and defrauded him out of nearly £150,000 has been jailed for three years.
Roofing company director Robert Stewart, 21, was found guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court of bogus workman offences.
The court heard Stewart went to his victim’s home in Priestfield Road, Edinburgh, in December 2015 and offered to repair a television antenna.
He told the homeowner the roof needed extensive work, which his company Abbey Building & Roofing could carry out.
The 87-year-old agreed to the maintenance and made several online payments to the firm totalling £147,460 between December 2015 and March 2016.
Staff at the victim’s bank became suspicious at the payments and contacted police.
During the investigation, officers arranged for two independent surveys on the house and found the work carried out was inferior and valued at between £25,000 and £30,000, far less than the fee charged.
Detectives linked the payments to an account held by Stewart, leading to his arrest and charge in April. He was found guilty after trial and sentenced on Thursday.
Detective Sergeant Gary Reid said after the case: “Robert Stewart preyed on an elderly man and was able to extort a large sum of money for work that was sub-par and nowhere near the valuation of such repairs.
“After bank staff observed a pattern in the victim’s payments they became suspicious and reported their concerns to police.
“We then launched a robust investigation alongside the City of Edinburgh Council’s Trading Standards department, resulting in Stewart being charged with bogus workman offences.
“His sentence should send a clear message that we will continue to work closely with our partners to actively pursue those involved in crimes of this nature to bring them to justice.”
Mr Reid said householders should never allow unsolicited work to be carried out on their home and to always use individuals or companies you know or trust.
He added: “In addition, family, friends and neighbours of vulnerable people are asked to be vigilant for any suspicious or unusual activity around their homes and report any concerns they have to police.”
Andrew Richardson, Procurator Fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said: “We know offences of this nature can have a devastating effect on victims who are often targeted because of their age “There is no shame attached to becoming a victim of highly organised criminals. If you are approached by anyone offering to do such work, or notice a friend, family member or neighbour in such circumstances please be vigilant and do not allow these people to take advantage.
“As this demonstrates we can and will disrupt the activities of these bogus workmen who deliberately target elderly householders and convince them they require urgent, costly and wholly unnecessary work to be carried out.”
Mr Richardson said the Crown has a prosecution policy focused on tackling crimes against older people and working with police to ensure that when these cases are reported, those responsible are prosecuted and pay for the consequences of their actions.
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