A 26-year-old man who defrauded over twenty people out of £108,000 through building work across the south-west, including in Bath, has been jailed for more than three years.
Johnny Carroll, who headed a gang of rogue builders who preyed on the elderly, targeted properties across south-west England and south Wales.
Exeter Crown Court heard how he would quote reasonable estimates for building work, but prices would then substantially increase when work began and the victims were then bullied into paying.
Carroll, of Cricklade in Wiltshire, used a number of different company names and telephone numbers in a bid to attract business from those believing he was a local company. He admitted a single count of fraud.
The building work was carried out between July 2012 and May 2014, at locations including Bath, Bristol, Portishead, Buckinghamshire, Cornwall, Powys in Wales and in areas of Devon.
Two of the victims involved have died since talking to the police, and it’s reported others have now handed over their financial affairs to their family following the incidents.
Carroll was sentenced to three years and two months in prison.