Driveway conmen told to pay £200k by court

FATHER-AND-SON thugs Jeffery and James Tawse have been ordered to pay more than £200,000 after swindling the vulnerable and elderly by carrying out shoddy driveway repairs.

In some cases the pair marched victims to cashpoints to withdraw money, becoming aggressive and abusive if customers refused to pay.

Most seriously they fleeced £64,500 from a vulnerable man who had suffered memory loss because of a cycling accident.

During a proceeds of crime hearing yesterday at Cardiff Crown Court Tawse senior, a 53-year-old dad-of-six, was ordered to pay £200,000. His son, James, whose only asset was a van, was ordered to pay £1,500. Both are from Rumney, Cardiff.

Dealing with 35-year-old James Tawse, Lee Reynolds, prosecuting, said: “The benefit figure is £52,297 and there is £1,500 available which will require an asset to be sold, a vehicle. That is a value we have taken from the guide.”

Of Tawse senior he said: “The agreed benefit and agreed available figure is £200,000.

“Save for £10,000 in the bank, the remainder will be hidden assets,” Mr Reynolds said.

“A total compensation award, of that £200,000, is in the sum of £71,520.”

Judge Thomas Crowther said it was “a great shame” the defendants’ victims were unlikely to see much of the money.

Mr Reynolds agreed that was “sadly” possible.

“That compensation figure takes into account there are 14 victims,” Mr Reynolds said.

Judge Crowther said of Jeffery Tawse “the benefit and realisable amount and confiscation order are all in the sum of £200,000”. He directed £71,520 would be compensation.

“In default of payment there will be a term of imprisonment of two years,” Judge Crowther said.

Of James Tawse he said: “I will declare the benefit £52,297.55 and the realisable amount is £1,500. There will be a confiscation order in the sum of £1,500.”

Both men admitted a single charge of conspiracy to defraud while Jeffrey Tawse also pleaded guilty to a charge of money laundering.

In September last year the two were locked up.

James Tawse was jailed for two years while his father was jailed for four for the fraud and two for the money laundering, with the terms to run consecutively.

During sentencing the court heard their dodgy practices included charging extra for a special weed-proof sealant to keep drives shiny – but the mixture was salt water, which has no effect.

Sometimes they damaged customers’ property by filling sand between paving slabs, causing bricks to crack in the rain.

If customers or their families tried to call to complain they were directed to a fake number.

If they got through they received a torrent of abuse.