Rogue roofer must pay Sheffield pensioner £20k
Scam: Dan Ward swindled a pensioner out of �22,440.
A SHEFFIELD pensioner who was conned out of thousands of pounds by a rogue roofer received an unexpected Christmas present – when the conman was forced to repay her more than £20,000.
The 89-year-old woman was living with her sister on Granville Road, Norfolk Park, Sheffield, when workers from Marshall Tufflex Roofline Systems carried out ‘urgent’ roof work on the property in November 2003.
The victim – believing the work was urgent – paid for the repairs and handed over £22,440.
However, a surveyor later found the work was not required, not completed, and finished to such a poor standard that it needed replacing anyway.
Following a lengthy police investigation, Dan Ward, of Alfreton Road, Selston, Nottinghamshire, was convicted of conspiracy to defraud at Sheffield Crown Court in 2007 and jailed for five-and-half-years.
After the hearing, police applied to seize his assets and a court ordered him to pay £330,501 within six months, deemed to be the proceeds of his offending.
Ward’s assets included his home, which he had previously tried to pass on to his daughter.
But the 63-year-old, failed to pay up and has now been jailed again for three years and three months.
Meanwhile, Ward’s house was sold, enabling his victim to receive compensation at last.
Graham Wragg, manager of South Yorkshire Police’s economic crime unit, said: “Although it has taken many years for South Yorkshire Police to recover the money, we are pleased to have played our part in ensuring the sum lost by the victim in this case was repaid.
“Elderly and vulnerable people should take extra care in answering the door to uninvited callers claiming to be professionals and wanting to work for them.
“If in any doubt, people should politely refuse and close the door.”
Ward must also pay back all of the cash.
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Thursday 23 May 2013
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