Two rogue traders who scammed elderly victims out of thousands of pounds for unnecessary building work have been told to pay back more than £100,000. The pair, Sonny Maughan and Emmanuel Scarrott told vulnerable people in Herne Bay, Longfield and Greenwich that they needed repairs to their roofs and chimneys.
However, the work was in fact not needed and Maughan and Scarrott would often cause damage to the properties during their substandard work, for which they charged extortionate prices.
In a separate fraud, Scarrott approached a homeowner in Lordswood and claimed to be a police officer investigating rogue traders. He told the victim he could get a refund, but would need to pay some money up front for legal representation and VAT.
The victim’s family became suspicious and contacted Kent Police, who launched an investigation. Detectives then listened into phone calls in which the victim was pressurised over paying more money. Maughan and Scarrott were arrested in November 2020, later admitted conspiracy to commit fraud and were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court in February 2022.
Maughan, formerly of an address in Gravesend, was jailed for five years and Scarrott, formerly of an address in Basildon, was sentenced to four years. Financial investigators from Kent Police’s Proceeds of Crime Team continued to investigate the pair’s finances and went back to court on Tuesday 22 October 2024 to apply for confiscation orders.
After presenting evidence of the men’s finances to court, Maughan, 31, was ordered to repay £100,000. Scarrott, 32, was previously ordered to repay £12,000, and has since done so. The money will go to the banks who refunded the victims following the offences.
Detective Inspector David Godfrey said:
‘Rogue traders like Maughan and Scarrott mercilessly prey on the elderly and vulnerable to defraud them of the savings they have earned over their lifetimes.
‘We won’t stop working to bring such people to justice and, as in this case, see them jailed for their crimes. Just as important though is that criminals are prevented from profiting from such offences and I am pleased our financial investigators have managed to recoup a large chunk of money in this case.’