Ten elderly customers handed over nearly £40k to conman

HE USED THE MONEY TO PAY OFF GAMBLING DEBTS

- By MARK NAYLOR

A CROOKED windows company boss conned 10 trusting elderly customers out of a total of nearly £40,000 by using high-pressure sales patter to persuade them to pay in advance for work that was never completed.

Serial fraudster Jonathon O'Grady had money problems as well as a gambling addiction and he also needed plenty of cash to “keep women keen” by splashing out on “lavish trips and holidays” for them, Hull Crown Court heard.

He had a history of dishonesty and he had earlier been part of a high-profile scam involving a group of rogue builders who swindled £1m from people looking for energy savings.

O'Grady, 38, of Blackburn Avenue, Bridlington, denied 10 offences of fraud against customers but he was convicted by a jury after a trial.

Oliver Shipley, prosecuting, said O'Grady owned a business called Grade A Home Improvements, with an address on the Promenade, Bridlington. It dealt in window installations, glazing, repairs, conservatories and uPVC doors.

O'Grady took money for work that was never completed. All 10 of the victims were senior citizens, aged up to 92 at the time of the visits to them.

In some cases, O'Grady went “over and above” in his initial visits and quoted for work that was not wanted and persuaded them to have it done. “The defendant would not leave until a deposit, often 50 per cent, had been paid there and then,” said Mr Shipley. “This was in order to secure some discount” In some cases, he would even drive the customer to a bank to withdraw money.

O'Grady was a “one-man-band” and he did everything, apart from the two most important parts, making the windows and fitting them.

“These tasks were outsourced to other companies, other professionals,’ said Mr Shipley. “The defendant spent his time going out and finding customers. Other companies would come and fit them and he would pay them a fee for doing so”

None of the work quoted for the 10 customers was ever completed.