Two men helped con artists steal £16,000 from a vulnerable pensioner, a court has heard.
Alfred Hillier, 39, of Lathum Close, Prescot, and Stephen Yates, 39, of Kelso Road, Fairfield, both appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to one count of possessing criminal property. Michael O’Brien, prosecuting, detailed that Peter Wolford, a 67-year-old man was at his home in September 2019, when he was approached by males who were working on his neighbour's home.
The men, claiming to be builders, told him he needed work doing on his chimney, and that originally it would only cost £10. They then returned and said further work was needed and it would actually cost £5,000, and scaffolding and machinery would be used but needed to be purchased.
The con artists, who have never been identified, gave a fake company name and told him to deposit money into a bank account. Mr O’Brien said: “The males clearly took advantage of his willingness to make payment, and told him to pay a deposit to secure the materials of over £9,000 to Mr Yates, which was deposited on September 2, 2019.”
READ MORE: 'Lovely' couple devastated after 'stolen' Audi crashes into their house
However the bank was suspicious of this, and only cleared £5,000 of the cheque. On September 6, four days later, Mr Wolford got a call from someone who identified themselves as Alfred Hillier, and said he worked for the same fake company as the other men.
He said there had been a problem with the last cheque, so asked for a further £11,000 to be sent to his account. Mr Wolford attempted to make the payment via bank transfer but was denied, so cashed a cheque for that amount.
Mr O’Brien said records confirmed that £10,995.95 was withdrawn from the account in various increments. He said: “No scaffolding or materials or anything else promised was delivered.
“Some work was completed on the home but very little. He realised to his horror that he was tricked and defrauded of money.”
Mr O’Brien said the victim felt “completely taken advantage of”. The total amount the victim lost was around £16,000.
Both men were arrested and interviewed, and Yates answered 'no comment' to all questions put to him. Hillier however accepted that the £11,000 had been in his bank account, but said he was pressured to hold the money in exchange for a £500 payment.
Yates has 30 previous convictions for 67 offences, including thefts, burglaries and various other dishonesty related charges. In 2019, shortly after this offence, he committed a burglary in a dwelling and was sentenced to three years imprisonment.
Hillier has three previous convictions for four offences, but none of a similar nature. Paul Becker, defending Hillier, said: “His involvement was opportunistic.
“Messages found referred to £500 in cash and are threatening in nature. He should not have become involved in this and he fully regrets his involvement.”
Mr Becker said his client has long term drug abuse issues, and that he did not believe he was “part of a gang” in any way. He added that he has not been in any trouble in the last four years since this offence.
Peter Wilson, defending Yates, accepted that his client was in a very different position because of his antecedent history, which he conceded was “terrible”. He argued that Yates used his time in custody very well and sending him back to prison could reverse that progress.
Mr Wilson said: “This was clearly a stupid and opportunistic offence, and one that he deeply regrets.” He also outlined the mental health issues his client suffers from.
Recorder Richard Conley said: “This is not just digits on a bank account screen, this is someone’s life savings. Those cheques were put into your bank accounts for substantial amounts of money, money that you had no right to.
“That money belonged to a vulnerable man living in Swindon, who was preyed upon by dishonest thieves masquerading as builders. Although your role was quite limited in that you just held the money, that type of offending cannot take place were it not for the activities of people like you, who are prepared to launder stolen cash through bank accounts in order to make a fast buck yourselves.”
Hillier was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete a six month drug rehabilitation programme. He was also told to complete 140 hours of unpaid work and ten rehabilitation days.
Yates was handed a sentence of 12 months, suspended for two years, and told to complete 20 rehabilitation days plus 140 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to abide by a curfew for three months, and a victim surcharge applies to both defendants.
After sentence, Recorder Conley said: “I very much hope you both complete this order, you don’t offend and you use this as an opportunity to turn your lives around.”
READ NEXT
Young mum 'felt at ease' when teenagers approached her son in park
Man, 19, arrested on suspicion of murdering Sam Rimmer
Masked thug pointed 'gun' at terrified barman and told him 'you have till 12 to pay the money'
M&S shoppers spot £45 'to-die-for-bag' that's a dupe of £400 Loewe version
