An organised crime gang that caused damage to roofs and then attempted to charge extortionate amounts for repair work has been sentenced to a combined total of 13 years and six months. Eight members of the gang were behind the scam to attempt to defraud vulnerable residents out of £208,000. Their victims in total lost more than £133,000 as they were charged for roofing work that was unnecessary and overpriced and in some cases even forced to pay for damage caused deliberately to the roofs by the crooks before demanding payment to ‘fix’ it.

Gang leader Arthur Draper, 41, and accomplices John Smith, 45, of Newark, Nottinghamshire and Jake Garrigan, 29, of Thorne, Doncaster, carried out the dodgy work and were found guilty of offences under the Fraud Act 2006 at Leicester Crown Court earlier this year. They were also found guilty of money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

A further suspect and alleged worker in the case, Jason Moore, 44 of no fixed address, failed to appear before the court and remains on the run and is wanted by Leicestershire Police.

Between November 2019 and March 2020, the conmen targeted vulnerable, often elderly or disabled, residents at their homes in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Staffordshire, cold calling them and claiming that work was needed on their properties to repair small roofing problems, that in some cases did not even exist. Once the gang had identified their victims, they would pressure them into agreeing to further work, sometimes by deliberately damaging the property, often the roof, leaving it insecure and vulnerable to the weather.

Due to the tactic of identifying low-cost remedial work, various standard practices such as cooling-off periods, contracts, or other paperwork were not offered or supplied. The fraudsters also concealed their identities by using false names, addresses, different company identities and telephone numbers.

Work that was carried out was undertaken to a poor standard and the money that was charged was at grossly excessive rates. Many of the homeowners had to spend thousands of pounds on legitimate builders to rectify the damage caused by the conmen and one property was left uninhabitable by the fraudsters. Victims also reported being subjected to hostile and intimidating behaviour from the gang when they questioned them about the mounting costs and incomplete work.

The group of criminals had a network of associates made up of six family members and friends, whose bank accounts they used to launder the proceeds of their fraudulent activity. Adam Pegg, 41, of Leicester, Natasha Power, 44, of Leicester, Colin Bell, 55 of Doncaster, Bradley Freeman, 25, of Doncaster and Wendy Pegg, 59, of Leicester were all found guilty of money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Arthur Draper was jailed for six years and four months, whilst John William Smith received 22 months behind bars, suspended for two years.

Jake Garrigan, Adam Pegg and Natasha Power were all jailed for 14 months, suspended for 2 years, whilst Colin Bell and Bradley Freeman received custodial sentences of four months, suspended for 12 months.

Wendy Pegg was handed a custody sentence of 16 months, suspended for 18 months.

The eight defendants were prosecuted following an investigation led by the National Trading Standards Regional Investigations Team East Midlands, hosted by Nottinghamshire County Council, which supports Trading Standards Authorities within the region.  In bringing the case additional support was received from Leicester Police, Leicestershire County Council Trading Standards, Derbyshire County Council Trading Standards, Lincolnshire County Council Trading Standards and Nottingham City Council.

Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said: “Trading Standards officers have exposed and brought a stop to criminals who used lies and deceit to gain access to properties and defraud people out of many thousands of pounds. On occasion the offenders deliberately sabotaged the very homes they were paid to repair, in one case even cutting away a perfectly sound section of roof and throwing it the ground. This investigation has prevented further harm, safeguarded vulnerable people, and sent a clear message that such ruthless behaviour will not be tolerated.

“If you suspect you or someone you know might have been targeted by a scam like this, you should report it to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.”

Councillor Dawn Justice, Cabinet Member for Communities and Public Health at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “We would like to thank all the victims who worked with our investigators to help bring these unscrupulous conmen to trial. These sentences send a strong message to fraudsters that this type of activity will not be tolerated.

“We always advise residents to be alert to cold calling, never to trade or buy at the door and to always report any concerns. If something doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t, and you should never be afraid to close the door on scammers and those who turn up out of the blue offering to provide services that you do not need.”