Warby’s companies caused damage to roofs on a few occasions to charge for repairs
(Picture: GGB Surveyors)A rogue builder who fraudulently charged “particularly vulnerable” victims for unnecessary repair work has been jailed for four years and nine months.
Ricki Paul Warby, 34, of Hamilton Roofing and Building Services Ltd and Maynard Roofing Ltd, collected a total of £86,000 from six elderly victims between September 2018 and April 2019.
A court heard how Warby would identify vulnerable people and then falsely persuade them that their roof was damaged and in need of repair.
On a few occasions, his building companies would deliberately damage his victims’ roofs in order to provide evidence that repair work needed to be carried out.
Judge Canavan, presiding over the case, said it was a “sophisticated offence” which was “all about fraud at the outset”.
Some victims were left with damaged roofs needing additional remedial works, the collective cost of which has been valued by an independent surveyor to be more than £70,000.
Three of his victims lived in Islington, two in Haringey and one in Hackney.
The case was taken to court after an investigation by Islington Council’s Trading Standards team.
The council were alerted after a concerned relative of an elderly resident called Citizens Advice to complain in November 2018.
Council officers visited the address where they found a vehicle left there by Warby’s team.
Business documents were seized from the vehicle, and contained information that allowed the investigating officers to widen their inquiry and to contact other victims.
Warby was sentenced on March 16 at Snaresbrook Crown Court.
As well being jailed for four years and nine years, Warby is banned from being a company director for seven years.
Councillor Diarmaid Ward, Islington Council’s Executive Director for Housing and Development, said: “Islington Council is determined to ensure that everyone in our community should have a decent, safe and affordable place to call home.
“In these offences, vulnerable people were deliberately sought out and in their own homes – where they should have been able to feel safe – were pressured and exploited. These were shameful offences, and thanks to the swift and careful actions of our Trading Standards team, the perpetrator has now been successfully prosecuted.
“We hope that this long prison sentence will send a clear message that this kind of exploitation will not be tolerated in Islington – if criminals target people in our community, we will take action, and we will come after you.”
