Conman who stole more than £15,000 from Scarborough Man is Jailed

A “dyed in the wool” fraudster who conned two North Yorkshire victims out of more than £100,000 has been jailed for more than three years and now faces a confiscation hearing which could see him stripped of assets.

George Allen, aged 34, of Metz Bridge travellers site, Middlesbrough, preyed on two elderly men in Scarborough and Stokesley before being caught and prosecuted by the multi-agency Operation Gauntlet, which is hosted by North Yorkshire’s Trading Standards service.

York Crown Court was told Allen had a long history of offending and defrauded both victims over roofing and other household repairs, charging hugely inflated prices for works which may not even have been needed at all.

Allen even drove one victim to the bank and waited outside while he withdrew the money he wanted.

An 89 year old man from Scarborough was targeted twice by Allen, while trading as G A Home Services and in January 2019 paid him £5,800. 

An invoice was found in his house for the replacement of the dry ridge system, replacing broken tiles and removing all rubbish from site.

In April 2019 Allen went back to the victim and obtained a cheque for £10,000. The court was told that payment lacked any explanation as no paperwork was left by Allen. No additional work to the property was identified.

An expert surveyor appointed by Trading Standards examined the property and concluded that had the work been fully warranted and all undertaken in a good and workmanlike manner, leaving it entirely fully fit for purpose, the value of the works would have been just over £1,000.  

In total, the householder had paid Allen £15,800. Historic images of the property and previous works undertaken showed the roofing works were also unlikely to have been necessary.

The second victim, a 69 year old vulnerable male from the Stokesley area had been visited by Allen repeatedly between 2013 and 2018. The hearing was told Allen had “inveigled his way into the trust and affection of the victim” and, over a prolonged period of time, had charged him for works around his home.

Allen took more than £82,000 in cheques from the victim. The victim also paid over £3,000 to builders’ merchants and other retailers for materials.

The expert surveyor examined the works undertaken on two occasions and concluded much of the work was unnecessary, poorly undertaken and the victim had been significantly overcharged. The work undertaken by George Allen was valued by the surveyor to be worth just £6,430.

Sentencing Allen, who admitted the offences, Recorder of York Sean Morris said:

"You are back yet again in court for dishonesty. You have now defrauded two men and you are a dyed in the wool fraudster. You are not to be trusted around elderly or vulnerable people and you are far, far from being a man of good character”.

He was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison, with confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 now expected.

A victim personal statement was supplied to the court by the Stokesley victim, which said: 

“Sometimes Mr Allen took me to get money when I did not have it. 

"He made sure I went to the bank but he waited outside or round the corner for me and because of this I felt compelled to pay him. 

"I think I was too trusting of Mr Allen, but he did not return that trust to me.”

The daughter of the Scarborough victim described how her father’s memory problems and confusion had increased during the year he was targeted by Allen.

Speaking after the case County Councillor Andrew Lee, Executive Member for Trading Standards, said: 

“The circumstances of this offending by George Allen are appalling.

“He has deliberately targeted very vulnerable and elderly victims to fleece them of their life savings. It is wicked behaviour and has been dealt with accordingly by the court, to ensure justice is done for them.

“Our trading standards team are committed to securing justice for the vulnerable victims in cases such as this and we trust this case will act as a warning to others who may think about behaving in a similar manner.”