A "dishonest and rogue" builder that scammed 58 households across Yorkshire out of hundreds of thousands of pounds has been sentenced to five and a half years in jail.
Adam Priestley, 40, of Victoria Close, Horsforth, fraudulently took £473,166.96 between September 2019 and December 2021 from various households that he had contacted after they put adverts for building work that needed doing online. However, in almost every instance he would take thousands of pounds from them before cutting off communication and leaving their houses half finished after he failed to pay builders.
In victim impact statements, some of the complainants said that Priestley's actions had left them feeling suicidal and suffering with serious mental health issues. Others said the half finished kitchens and roofs Priestley was responsible for left their houses flooded and damaged for months.
