TWO Scarborough rogue traders have been jailed for conning a "vulnerable" woman out of more than £6,300.
Thomas James Wilson, 33, was sent to prison for three years and his accomplice Danny James Toal, 31, jailed for two and a half years after Leeds Crown Court heard how the pair cold-called at the woman's home.
Trading as The Roofing Specialists, th
e pair falsely claimed to have repaired the woman's roof, cleaned out her gutters and replaced bricks and slates in her loft.
They charged her more than £6,300 for the work including a sum of £4,350 for materials for work which they allegedly carried out on her bathroom.
Wilson, of Hinderwell Road, admitted five offences under the Fraud Act and one under the Trade Descriptions Act, while Toal, of Wyecourt, pleaded guilty to four offences under the Fraud Act and two under the Trade Descriptions Act.
"Sadly, their victim died shortly after the offending," said a spokeswoman for North Yorkshire County Council's trading standards department.
"Trading Standards pursued the case, despite her death, determined not to allow such despicable offences go unpunished."
In a separate case David Robert Tunney, 33, and Christian Denver Shaw, 32, both from Ammanford, Wales, received a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and a 12-month supervision order requiring they each undertake 250 hours of community service, after admitting 15 offences under the Trade Descriptions Act.
Leeds Crown Court heard how the pair operated a domain name scam through their company Sky Protection Ltd, of Ystradgynlais, Wales.
The con involved cold-calling the owners of guest-houses and bed and breakfasts around the country, falsely claiming that a third party was trying to set up internet websites using the victim's trading name as domain names.
They alleged this would prevent the business from setting up a website with an appropriate domain name in future.
One of their victims was the owner of a guest-house near Whitby who was told that a competitor in the town had attempted to buy domain names relating to her business.
"Fearing it would affect her business in future she agreed to buy six domain names for £25 each," added the trading standards spokesman.
"After giving her bank details over the telephone Sky Protection then debited £1,500 from her account."
Proceeds of Crime Act asset recovery cases are expected to follow in relation to all four men.
