Four rogue traders jailed for £100k fraud

Good afternoon,

Four men have been jailed for a total of 13 years after being found guilty of numerous rogue trading offences across the country.

Brothers Jaye, Sam and George Cardy, along with accomplice Kenneth Hughes, carried out their offences between 2018 and 2023. They targeted elderly and vulnerable people by cold calling at homes, claiming to have spotted urgent building works that needed doing.

In most cases the work was either unnecessary or completed to a substandard level, and the victims were pressured into paying immediately, either by bank transfer or, in some cases, by being taken to the bank to withdraw cash. One St Albans resident, aged in their 80s, was charged £44,000 for roof repairs. In total, the offenders defrauded victims out of over £100,000.

Several of the victims were based in St Albans and another in Bushey. Further afield they targeted residents in Luton, Exeter, Bradford and Bovington in Devon.

All four appeared at Inner London Crown Court on Wednesday 11 February and were sentenced as follows:

Some of the victims have been compensated by their banks and further action will be taken to recover stolen funds including a confiscation order. Criminal behaviour orders have also been applied for which will prevent further offending upon their release.  

Detective Constable Vicky Cornelius, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious Fraud and Cyber Unit said: “The gang deliberately targeted vulnerable residents, claiming their homes needed urgent repair work, then charging them vastly inflated sums for poor work, or sometimes no work. They even left some victims with no roof during the winter months. Many of their victims were very elderly and felt they had no choice but to pay the bills, often leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket. Sadly, one of the victims has since passed away and never got to see justice done.

“If you have a trader calling at your home uninvited, claiming you need work done, never agree to anything or part with any cash straight away. If you are in doubt, take their information and contact Hertfordshire Trading Standards to check their legitimacy - they have a list of accredited tradespeople. If work does need to be done, then obtain quotes from a number of companies before parting with any cash. These quotes should be provided in a written form with a notice explaining your right to cancel.”

Visit www.reportfraud.police.uk or www.herts.police.uk/ptotectyourmoney for advice on avoiding fraud. 

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You can report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101.