COWBOY OF THE WEEK
Robert Vincent might end up as Cowboy of the Year, such was the scale of his scam.
First he convinced his 68-year-old victim that his roof needed replacing.
After paying £14,000, the poor chap said he could not afford any more, so Vincent persuaded him to change his will, leaving the £540,000 house to him.
He was rumbled when the homeowner was contacted by Trading Standards officers in Bromley, South East London, about an earlier building scam, and he mentioned he was having further work carried out.
The watchdog found that Vincent, who operated under the false name Terry Griffiths, had not carried out any work, and they called in officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Falcon fraud unit.
The 47-year-old from Orpington, Kent, has now been jailed for five years and three months after admitting fraud by false representation at Wood Green crown court in North London.
And he won’t be getting the house – the amended will has been destroyed.