A despicable scammer cruelly tricked vulnerable elderly people out of their life savings in a roofing con - with one widower losing £126,000.
Stephen O'Kane deliberately targeted very old people, charming them into trusting him, frightening them into believing work was necessary then fleecing them for every penny he could get his hands on. In total, O'Kane took more than £175,000 from victims in Whitley Bay, Gateshead, South Shields and Sunderland although he claimed a gang of travellers he was working for took most of it.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the victims of the sophisticated scam have been left traumatised by the fact they fell victim to it. The first victim was a retired lady who lives in South Shields was approached by a man from a bogus company called North East Roofing, who told her work needed doing to her roof and she paid £6,500 for it.
She was then visited repeatedly by someone called Steve, who the court heard was O'Kane, who overcharged her for unnecessary work eight times. In total, that victim handed over £13,850, for work which a surveyor found was unwarranted and should have cost £1,200.
She spent her life savings and had to take out two loans. She said as a result of the offending, she felt "extremely embarrassed", was left struggling financially, stressed, struggling to sleep, terrified when the phone rings, scared to answer her door and not the same outgoing person she was previously.
O'Kane was arrested for that then released under investigation and went on to do it again. His next victim was an 89-year-old woman in Gateshead. A man called Patrick, who had previously jet-washed her patio for £850, told her the roof needed work.
O'Kane turned up in a van branded with 'Homestyle' and she was charged £5,000 to remove and renew felt, plus an additional £600 to do work on some flashing. He then told her there was bad news, that the felt was rotten and that a further £5,000 was needed.
She agreed but fortunately her son intervened and phone the police before that extra £5,000 was handed over. She said she was left feeling "stupid" an "angry" at being taken advantage of.
An 86-year-old man in Whitley Bay was then cold-called and given a leaflet for a supposed company called Stormguard and a man offered to clean his gutters. He was then pressured into agreeing to pay £3,500 for work he was told was necessary. However when attempts were made to double the price, he became angry and refused.
The savvy pensioner then wrote a post-dated cheque for £3,500, which he subsequently cancelled. He said he was able to avoid losing out due to his experiences in a previous con.
An 80-year-old widower from the Penshaw area of Sunderland was not so lucky and lost vast sums. It began when he returned home in the summer of 2000 and found O'Kane on his roof and told him the chimney was at risk of collapsing.
Fearing for his own safety and feeling under pressure, the pensioner agreed to a series of demands for large sums. In total, he lost £126,000 and was prevented from handing over a further £20,000 when his bank intervened.
Referring to his victim impact statement, prosecutor Joe Hedworth said: "He says he felt betrayed because the defendant had befriended him. He feels taken advantage of and feels stupid and embarrassed. When he worked in the bank he was taught to look out for what he has fallen for.
"He was befriended and tricked by O'Kane. He went along with what he was saying because he was so friendly. He can't explain why he paid it but he doesn't like conflict and at the age of 80 felt he couldn't stand up to him.
"He can't understand how easily he took advantage of him, looking back but realises that's what conmen do."
O'Kane, 38, of Borough Road, Middlesbrough, who has 31 previous convictions, including driving offences and perverting justice, pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud, possessing articles for use in fraud, fraudulent use of a vehicle registration and having no insurance or licence. He was jailed for 57 months and will be banned from driving for a year when he is released.
Recorder Mark McKone QC told him: "This was very persistent and extremely mean offending."
David Callan, defending, said O'Kane had wasted the last 20 years of his life because of heroin but is now on methadone. He pleaded guilty on the basis travellers offered him the chance to wipe out a £4,000 drugs debt if he worked for them and Mr Callan said most of the £175,000 from the fraud went to others, with O'Kane getting a small amount in wages and expenses.
Mr Callan said: "He felt intimidated by the people behind him. he was the front man but was not the leading player. He would like to apologise to the victims. His drug habit is no comfort to them."
