Investigation helps jail criminals behind £1m home improvement scam

Four men who exploited the Government’s ‘Green Deal’ initiative and cheated their way to more than £1m have been sentenced at Leeds Crown Court.
The group offered home improvement services – particularly supplying and fitting windows and doors – and targeted victims across Yorkshire and Derbyshire between April 2017 and August 2019.
They used fake names to hide their true identities, secured business by misrepresentation, knowingly delivered defective services and persuaded customers to pay with substantial deposits for substandard work.
They also generated customer interest through a misleading advertising campaign for which Eastenders star June Brown was hired to play a character. The adverts encouraged customers to contact the group, at which point they began their pushy sales techniques.
The defendants were convicted of fraud and proceeds of crime offences in relation to the activity of several companies that claimed to be home improvement specialists, with expertise in fitting windows.
In many cases, the windows were of poor quality, often arriving undersized, cracked and/or scratched.
They were often installed badly, causing damage to homeowners’ walls and leaving them with large gaps between the windows and the walls.
The sentences handed down were as follows:
Zulkernan Mahmood, 36 of Bradford, sentenced to six years and four months imprisonment, handed a 10-year criminal behaviour order (CBO) and disqualified from being a director for 14 years.
Rehan Yousaf, 47 of Bradford, sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment (to run consecutively with a sentence of seven years and 11 months that he is currently serving), handed a 10-year CBO and disqualified from being a company director for 12 years.
Jonathan O’Grady, 37 of Bridlington, handed a two-year suspended sentence, ordered to complete 220 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from being a director for six years.
David Goody, 54 of Bradford, ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and disqualified from being a director for three years.
A fifth man, Jordan Coalby, 31 of Bacup, Lancashire, failed to attend court and an arrest warrant has been issued.
Nearly all complainants were enticed by a professionally-filmed TV advert. Acting in it was June Brown who played Dot Cotton in the soap series EastEnders.
The defendants were prosecuted following an investigation led by the National Trading Standards Yorkshire and Humber Regional Investigations Team, hosted by City of York Council.
Lord Michael Bichard, chair, National Trading Standards, said: “These men left many people with extensive remedial works required at their homes; some were left living in structurally unstable properties with no viable means of repairing the damage done due to the financial losses they incurred.
“We urge consumers to stay vigilant about home improvement scams – watch out for anybody trying to pressurise you into parting with your money and always seek advice from trusted friends and family members.
“Criminals are always seeking new ways to exploit people’s concerns for their own gain, and with many people considering making their homes more energy efficient, these types of scams remain a real threat.
Councillor Jenny Kent, executive member for environment at City of York Council, added: “Our Trading Standards team investigations are helping secure justice for innocent people and are a warning to anyone considering exploiting homeowners that they will be caught.
“Home and energy efficiency improvements are vital for people to have warm, low-cost homes, and it is really damaging if peoples’ trust is eroded by a small number of criminals.”