Bogus roofer tried to con couple out of £35k
A BOGUS roofer who tried to con a couple out of £35,000 has been jailed.
Brian Williams-Craven was part of a gang which pretended to carry out repair work – but in fact just painted the roof red.
The 51-year-old, of Longfield Road, Northfield, who had admitted fraud, was jailed for three years and five months.
He was previously one of West Midlands Police’s most wanted crooks.
And his accomplices included notorious Birmingham brothers Timmy and Errol Flynn, who were jailed in September.
Birmingham Crown Court heard a 77-year-old man who lived in Northfield with his 84-year-old wife were cold-called by one of the team on July 21, 2016.
The resident was told £400-worth of ridge tiles needed replacing.
But the price went through the roof, first to £1,400 and then £7,000 – with £2,000 for scaffolding.
The victim tried to pay a penny short of £10,000, but was unable to do so because their bank was suspicious.
The gang then claimed they had found a rotten beam which needed repair and asked for another £5,000. The fraudsters got the pensioner to pay £9,000 through a car company registered to the defendant’s brother.
Martin Liddiard, prosecuting, said a total of £35,000 was demanded.
The scam was only brought to an end thanks to the vigilance of a police officer neighbour who had told the gang to move on.
Mr Liddiard said police had been able to recover some of the money, although the couple had still been left £5,000 out-of-pocket.
When their roof was later looked at, a coat of red paint was the only work done. Mr Liddiard said it also appeared that some damage had been done.
Sukhdev Garcha, defending, said Williams-Craven only became involved at a later stage after being recruited by his brother and he allowed his bank account to be used.
Judge Heidi Kubic QC said the couple’s roof needed no repair and any work done by the fraudsters was “negligible.”
The fraud had a serious and detrimental effect on the victim’s well being.