Fraudster who conned elderly Scarborough and Stokesley victims out of more than £100,000 for bogus repair work is jailed

George Allen, aged 34, of Metz Bridge travellers site, Middlesbrough, preyed on two elderly men in Scarborough and Stokesley before being caught by trading standards officers.

York Crown Court was told on Tuesday that Allen had a long history of offending and defrauded both victims over roofing and other household repairs, charging hugely inflated prices for works that may not even have been needed at all.

Allen even drove one victim to the bank and waited outside while he withdrew the money he wanted.

The court heard an 89-year-old Scarborough man was targeted twice by Allen, while trading as G A Home Services, and in January 2019 paid him £5,800.

An invoice was found in his house for the replacement of the dry ridge system, replacing broken tiles and removing all rubbish from the site.

In April 2019, Allen returned to the victim and obtained a cheque for £10,000. The court was told that payment lacked any explanation as no paperwork was left. No extra work to the property was identified.

An expert surveyor appointed by North Yorkshire County Council’s trading standards officers found that had the work been fully warranted and properly undertaken, the value would have been just over £1,000. In total, the victim paid £15,800.

The daughter of the Scarborough victim described how her father’s memory problems had increased during the year he was targeted.

Sentencing Allen, who admitted fraud, the Recorder of York, Sean Morris, said: “You are back yet again in court for dishonesty. You have now defrauded two men and you are a dyed in the wool fraudster.

"You are not to be trusted around elderly or vulnerable people and you are far, far from being a man of good character.”

The second victim, a 69-year-old man from the Stokesley area, was visited by Allen repeatedly between 2013 and 2018. The hearing was told Allen had “inveigled his way into the trust and affection” of the victim and charged him for works around his home.

A personal statement supplied to the court by the victim said: "Mr Allen made sure I went to the bank but he waited outside or around the corner for me and because of this I felt compelled to pay him.

“I think I was too trusting of Mr Allen, but he did not return that trust to me.”

Allen took more than £82,000 in cheques, and the victim also paid more than £3,000 to builders’ merchants and other retailers for materials. The surveyor valued the works at just £6,430.

The council’s executive member for trading standards, Cllr Andrew Lee, said: “The circumstances of this offending by George Allen are appalling.

“He has deliberately targeted very vulnerable and elderly victims to fleece them of their life savings. It is wicked behaviour and has been dealt with accordingly by the court, to ensure justice is done for them.

“Our trading standards team are committed to securing justice for the vulnerable victims in cases such as this and we trust this case will act as a warning to others who may think about behaving in a similar manner.”

Allen was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison, with confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 now expected to try and claw back his assets.