A conman who went around the country lying to people about getting rid of harmful asbestos, then dumping it in storage containers, has been ordered to pay back £82,100. The Environment Agency said Lee Charles of Caldicot Gardens, Grantham, in Lincolnshire, had pleaded guilty last year to lying to customers and giving false paperwork to hide his deception. As a result, it said, he was given a suspended prison sentence.
It said he was back at Lincoln Crown Court this week in a case brought by the agency under the Proceeds of Crime Act, following a financial investigation. The agency said Charles marketed himself as Lincs Demolition Ltd for two years, claiming he was registered to remove asbestos to gain lucrative jobs from Dorking to Doncaster. He had no legal permit to carry out the work.
The places where the 40-year-old acted out his dishonesty covered much of central and eastern England, it said.
