Alleged rogue traders Paul Cooper and Albert Kempster charged after elderly woman defrauded out of £33,000
Two alleged rogue traders have been charged and are due to appear in court this morning after an elderly woman was defrauded out of thousands of pounds.
As reported on Friday, four men were arrested after a woman in her 80s handed over £32,800 to them for roof work.
This was separated across seven rogue trader incidents between September 27 and October 17 in Titchfield, Fareham and Southampton. Police said the males purported to be tradesmen, with them carrying out minimal work on each visit.
Now Paul Cooper, 40, of Southfields, Fareham, and Albert Kempster, 30, of Southampton Road, Titchfield, have both been charged and will appear at Portsmouth Magistrates’ Court this morning (October 26).
They have been charged with fraud by false representation and acquiring, using or possessing criminal property, and were remanded in custody. “As part of our investigation, two other men had been arrested, but they have both been bailed while enquiries continue,” a force spokesperson said.
The two other men arrested were a 33-year-old man from Southampton who was arrested on suspicion of fraud by false representation and possession of Class A drugs. Another male from Southampton, 28, was detained on suspicion of fraud by false representation and possession of criminal property.
Marcus Kennedy, District Commander for Policing in Fareham and Gosport, who recently told The News he had a “low tolerance for anyone who makes people’s lives a misery”, joined the police teams on the clampdown.
He said: “Doorstep crime is a nasty offence type which sees some of the most vulnerable members of our community exploited, manipulated or intimidated into parting with enormous sums of cash.
“There is no place for it, and I hope today’s activity sends a message that we will take any reports of this type of crime seriously and we will act. The community are our eyes and ears, so please keep reporting suspicious activity around scam callers or rogue traders to the police so we can build a bigger picture of who, where and how they are operating.
“It’s so important that as a community we look after each other. Check in on any elderly or vulnerable friends, neighbours or relatives, encourage them to be cautious around cold callers and to make use of the crime prevention advice available on our website about how to identify, and what to do, if you are contacted by a rogue trader.”