A retired Oxford don and his wine expert wife were scammed out of almost £80k by builders - for a job that should cost around £1K, a court heard. Professor Nigel Wilson, an expert on Byzantine history and a retired classics professor at Lincoln College, was conned over roof repairs at his home.
The builders demanded ever-increasing amounts of cash be transferred as the costs of the building work spiralled in January 2020. By the time the couple’s financial adviser demanded more rigorous paperwork from firm ‘Oxfordshire Roofing Company’ and put a stop to further payments, the crooks had got away with £77,000.
The couple had already asked for a detailed breakdown of costs, while their suggestion a surveyor should be brought in was batted away as ‘unfair’. Giving evidence at Oxford Crown Court this week, Prof Wilson told the jury of his decision to pay out the eye-watering sum.
