A door-to-door fish salesman has been jailed for more than five years for ripping off over 100 customers. Craig Henderson targetted the elderly and vulnerable, with one of his victims being 105-years-old.
The 51-year-old fish seller, of Fir Avenue, Durham, aggressively sold frozen fish door-to-door, prosecutors told Teeside Crown Court, with one victim handing over nearly £700 after being visited by the salesman on four occasions. Henderson admitted a single charge of fraudulent trading which netted him well over £250,000 in three-and-a-half years.
The court heard how some 110 victims from across the UK gave statements to investigators about being mis-sold fish and feeling intimidated into buying at inflated prices. One said she felt pressurised into buying, telling the inquiry team: “He was like having 10 Jehovah’s Witnesses at the door at the same time.”
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Some victims said they only agreed to buy products so Henderson would leave their property, and one said she would hide should he ever come to her door again.
Sabrina Goodchild, prosecuting, told the court that around two-thirds of Henderson's victims were aged over 60, with one aged 95, and another aged 105. Ms Goodchild said he deliberately set out to defraud customers from the start, selling cheap frozen fish as fresh at an average of three times the retail price.
He also used vans with other, legitimate firms’ logos on the side so he could not be traced, she said, and charged higher prices the older the customer. Victims were not given receipts or a contact number to complain to and some cheaper species were sold as expensive ones.
The court heard that some of the fish was of such poor quality it had to be binned. One of his victims said that the produce was so off it made their freezer smell, despite it being frozen.
Packages were unlabelled, which meant customers had no idea of a use-by date, the court heard. In some cases, Henderson or his staff would enter victims’ homes and start loading their fridges with goods before the customer had even agreed on a price.
A retired nurse, who handed over £150 for 14 pieces of fish, said she felt embarrassed at being conned by Henderson. Another victim was visited four times by Henderson and spent £698 on fish, the court heard, while a retired teacher said she now felt gullible and upset at being tricked by him.
After he was arrested, investigators traced sales on his bank account totalling £246,000, but the true level of the cons would have been much higher if the unknowable amount of cash sales was included. He had a criminal record for dishonest fish sales dating back to 2003, with six convictions spanning 62 offences, and had previously been jailed for similar offences.
Lewis Kerr, defending, said Henderson had run up drug debts due to his heroin and crack addictions. Mr Kerr said Henderson admitted: “Not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I have done, it is just not acceptable.”
Judge Howard Crowson jailed him for five years and seven months, saying the offending persisted despite warnings and attempts from trading standards officers to get him to sell legally. He imposed a Criminal Behaviour Order, indefinitely banning Henderson from going door-to-door and conducting unsolicited sales.
After the hearing, Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said: “Threatening older victims – including at least one aged over 100 – and intimidating them in their own homes shows utter cowardice. Many victims were repeatedly targeted, giving the defendant money they could not afford to lose, just to make him go away.
“Once again our team in the North East – who have carried out a number of prosecutions against illegal fish sellers – have stopped a ruthless individual in his tracks and prevented untold further harm. I’m proud of everyone involved for their relentless efforts to identify and bring these criminals to justice.”
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