Pensioner has gone ‘downhill’ after con
AN ELDERLY man from Southport, who was conned by three bogus workmen, has gone downhill mentally and physically since the offence, a court heard.
The 87-year-old widower, who had falsely been told work was needed to his roof, was even driven to a cash machine by two of the gang who then made off with his money and their accomplice without doing any work at all.
Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that a victim impact statement showed that the man now suffers dementia and his ‘‘disgusted’’ son-in-law told how his mental and physical health had deteriorated since the offence and he attributed the decline to the offence.
The court heard that two days before the 87-year-old was conned, one of the conmen, Owen Maughan, had targeted another pensioner who was also driven to an ATM after he and his companions pretended to repair his ridge tiles.
Maughan, 31, of Herbert Street, St Helens, was jailed on Tuesday for a total of 18 months and his accomplice in the earliest offence, Bradley Shinks, of Cherry Tree Drive, St Helens, was jailed for 10 months.
The third fraudster, Kieran Scott, of Fleet Street, St Helens, received eight months’ jail, suspended for 18 months. He was also ordered to carry out 240 hours’ unpaid work and attend up to 20 days rehabilitation activities.
Sentencing them, the judge, Recorder Thomas Ryan, said that the three had set off to carry out the genuine business of cleaning gutters but by the time they got to the Southport home of the 70-year-old victim “you intended if you could to obtain money by fraud by pretending his roof needed repairing.”
He said that 24-year-old Shinks and Maughan each claimed that the other was the instigator but he said: “You both clearly had a joint leading role. Scott joined in initially genuinely looking for work but agreed to embark on the fraud at some point.”
Recorder Ryan added: “The work that you did was not only shoddy, it was not genuine work and it was done to cover up the fraud you intended to perpetrate. You intimidated or incited him into parting with £300 for work which was not done or properly done.”
Witnesses had seen them pressuring the victim and quoting “extortionate” prices and attempting to get him to agree.
The judge told Maughan that two days later he had carried out “a blatant theft from an elderly and vulnerable man”.
All had pleaded guilty to fraud and Maughan also admitted the later theft.
Owen Maughan “feels both guilty and ashamed”, said Alexandra Sut- ton, defending, who added that her client had not been in trouble since 2008. “It was a serious lapse in judgement and he is remorseful,” she added.
Scott’s barrister, Daniel Prowse, said that he had never been in trouble before and was “genuinely sorry.” He had gone round with the others genuinely offering to do odd jobs and was not out to target elderly victims.
He said that a ridge tile was genuinely missing but accepted he was not qualified to do the work and forceful tactics had been used to get the money.
He helps look after his younger siblings while their mum is at work, said Mr Prowse. Suspending the prison sentence, the judge said he was doing so because of the role he plays at home.
Martyn Walsh, defending, said that Shinks had not been in trouble for seven years and had never been to custody.
“He accepts his expresses his remorse.” part and