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Rogues Gallery – Conmen Cowboys Sent To Jail
Three men were given prison sentences on 13 April for deliberately targeting elderly homeowners and overcharging them for bodged home improvements. The trio even boasted about their deliberate fleecing on videos found on their mobile phones.
Two brothers and a third man were successfully prosecuted by Wiltshire Council supported by the National Trading Standards, South-West Regional Investigation Team.
Matty Rossiter, aged 18 and James Rossiter, aged 24 both pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business and fraud by false representation. Dean Smith, aged 21, pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business. The Rossiters were convicted on 24 June 2022; Smith on 25 July 2022.
Rampage
The offences were committed in a very short period of time (between October 2020 and March 2021) as the men knocked on doors; agreed fees; and ‘completed’ their tasks in hours. The victims live in Wiltshire, South Gloucestershire, Gloucestershire and Bristol.
On victim told the BBC that his mother died as she became depressed at having been conned.
The charges relate to unnecessary and overpriced work carried out at 18 properties, with customers aged between 44 and 90, defrauded out of approximately £45,000, with many also having to pay out more to have the work put right.
The biggest losses were £9,000, £8,500 and £5,000. During the investigation many more consumers were interviewed who had also been defrauded but did not want to provide a witness statement. Some were not cold called but had engaged the men through Facebook and professional looking websites.
The three men traded under several business names: Southern Homecare, Chippenham Roofing, Skyline Roofing, Wiltshire Roofing, Yate Roofing, Tree Wise, RM Building & Landscapes and Enterprise Roofing.
Abysmal
The standard of the work carried out was described by one chartered surveyor engaged to assess the work as ‘abysmal’ and ‘carried out with no attendant skill or competence and probably without the use of appropriate hand tools’.
One video reveals the men hand applying mortar and laughing at how they were getting away with bodging at the premises and how they saw this as ‘the future’.
Sentences
Matty Rossiter was sentenced to two years and three months in prison; James Rossiter was sentenced to three years and four months in prison; and Dean Smith was sentenced to three years in prison. Sentencing was held at Swindon Crown Court.
Calculated
Lord Bichard, chair, National Trading Standards, said: These men were calculated in the way they targeted victims, whether through cold-calling and falsely claiming they'd spotted a problem or misleading people looking for home improvement services. They pressured their victims, many of whom were vulnerable, into paying huge amounts upfront for work that afterwards was deemed to be worthless or worse, had actually caused damage. I am grateful to everyone involved in bringing these criminals to justice.”
Picture with thanks to the BBC: Three young men have successfully been prosecuted fleecing homeowners with bodged jobs. They are Matty Rossiter (left), James Rossiter and Dean Smith.
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
14th April 2023