'Deceitful' fraudster from Portsmouth jailed for scam home improvement firm that ripped off £800,000 from victims

Villain Scott Baker, 50, was jailed for four years after scamming 61 victims out of £831,170.

Brian Tutton, 62, of Ashford, Kent, was sentenced to seven years.

The greedy criminals had duped innocent victims through their firm Contemporary Home Improvements Ltd, with Tutton as the company's director and Baker described as ‘principal salesman’.

They were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court alongside Londoner David Gogo, 30, who posed as their architect.

He was sentenced to 14 months, suspended for two years, and was also ordered to carry out 160 hours community service.

A fourth defendant, Louise Shiankwang, 50, of Grinstead Lane, Sussex, had pleaded guilty earlier having allowed her home to be used as a fake show home.

She will appear at the same court for sentencing on February 14.

The court heard how the fraudsters offered to undertake work they had no intention of carrying out, while passing off work done by others as their own to persuade clients to hand over large amounts of money.

The fraud was uncovered after complaints in 2017 and a joint investigation was launched by Trading Standards and the Metropolitan Police.

Det Insp Matt Wigg, who was the investigating officer, said: ‘People are often embarrassed when they find they have been duped by a fraudster, but these defendants had worked hard to present themselves as a reputable, reliable and genuine building company, it would have been difficult for anyone to see beyond the fantasy they had created.

‘Tutton ran a website that detailed the building work completed at Shiankwang’s home giving the impression that the work had been done by him.

‘The victims had been visited in person by sales representatives to provide their deposits for the work they wanted done and were offered additional discounts if they allowed their home to be used as a “show home” for Tutton’s work.

‘The deposits were small amounts taken by credit or debit card and these were later followed by large deposits made via bank transfer. All of these things bolstered the impression of reliability.’

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Wendy Martin, director of National Trading Standards, said: ‘These deceitful fraudsters went to great lengths to conceal their dishonest operation behind a glossy facade, enabling them to con trusting homeowners into handing over large sums of money for building work they had no intention of carrying out.

‘Our teams work hard to protect consumers and the sentences are a reminder that criminals who engage in these types of scams will be prosecuted.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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