A gang of six fraudsters have been prosecuted for conning elderly residents out of £286,765 for over-priced and often unnecessary home improvement work. Guilty verdicts were returned at Nottingham Crown Court on June 28, following a lengthy trial, and they will be sentenced on Wednesday, September 6.
Jason Rowan (aged 51) previously featured in Nottinghamshire Live when his Ilkeston company was caught on camera 'targeting' elderly or vulnerable people'. EnergySave's Rowan said at the time, in May 2019, he decided to close the business because its reputation had been "ruined" after it appeared on BBC consumer affairs show Watchdog last year.
Rowan, of Town End Road, Draycott, Derbyshire, was convicted alongside Stephen Tomlinson, aged 55, of Dorchester Avenue, Derby, David Beeson, aged 53, of Bracknell Drive, Alvaston, Derby, Christopher Simpson, aged 58, of Erdington Hall Road, Birmingham, Bohdan Zacharko, aged 69, of High Holborn, London, and Philip Eremenko, aged 54, Thistledown Road, Clifton, were found guilty of various fraud and money laundering offences under the Criminal Law Act 1977, the Companies Act 2006 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The court heard that between 2014 and 2018, the six defendants were involved with multiple companies that marketed and sold home improvement services, specifically exterior wall and roof coating products, which they claimed would improve energy efficiency and reduce household bills. The companies included Energysave Central Ltd (and its associated companies Energy Save Glass Ltd, Energysave Conservatories Ltd and Energy Save Group Ltd), Envirotherm Group (UK) Ltd and EVT Group Ltd.
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Investigations by National Trading Standards East Midlands and supported by Derbyshire Constabulary and Derbyshire County Council Trading Standards identified 62 victims, many of whom were elderly people living in vulnerable situations, with many aged in their 80s and 90s. In some cases, very vulnerable individuals were repeatedly and cynically targeted by the conmen for more and more work.
During the hearing which lasted almost six months, it was revealed that the perpetrators often made initial contact with their victims from one of their companies’ call centres. Following the initial cold call, victims were visited by a sales rep in their home, during which time they were subjected to scare tactics and pressure selling for wall and roof coatings that the fraudsters falsely claimed were ‘guaranteed’ to cure damp and significantly reduce their heating bills.
Many felt pressurised into making a decision on the spot, for a “today only” so called bargain, whereas in reality the price had been grossly inflated. The defendants also refused to refund customers’ money when they cancelled within their cancellation period.
In a number of cases, customers sued the company concerned in the county court and obtained judgements for the repayment of the money. However, more often than not these judgements were ignored.
Councillor John Cottee, Cabinet Member for Communities at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: “Unfortunately, scammers often target those who are most vulnerable in our communities without a second thought, and this can have a devastating impact on victims and their families.
“I would like to thank all the victims who came forward and worked with our investigators to help bring this case to trial. The verdict in this case shows that this sort of behaviour will not be tolerated.
"Our Trading Standards Service will continue to protect the most vulnerable in our community and pursue any perpetrators of this type of conduct to ensure that they face justice.”
“Nottinghamshire County Council Trading Standards Service always advises residents to be alert to cold calling, never to trade or buy at the door and to always report any concerns. If something doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t and you should never be afraid to close the door on scammers and those who turn up out of the blue offering to fix problems you didn’t know or think that you had.”
The group were convicted unanimously as follows:
Count 1
Conspiracy to commit fraud – Jason Rowan, Stephen Tomlinson, David Beeson, Christopher Simpson, Bohdan Zacharko & Philip Eremenko
Count 2
Fraudulent trading – Jason Rowan & Stephen Tomlinson
Count 3
Fraudulent trading – Jason Rowan & Stephen Tomlinson
Count 4
Fraudulent trading – Jason Rowan, Stephen Tomlinson & Bohdan Zacharko
Count 5
Acquiring criminal property – Jason Rowan
Anyone who suspects that rogue traders are operating in their area is advised to contact Trading Standards on 0808 223 1133.
