Six conmen found guilty at Nottingham Crown Court of home improvement scam worth thousands

The convictions were handed down at Nottingham Crown Court, following an investigation led by the National Trading Standards Regional Investigations Team in the East Midlands, hosted by Nottinghamshire Council.

Jason Rowan, aged 51, of Town End Road, Draycott, Derbyshire, 55-year-old Stephen Tomlinson, of Dorchester Avenue, Derby, David Beeson, 53, of Bracknell Drive, Alvaston, Derby, 58-year-old Christopher Simpson,of Erdington Hall Road, Birmingham, Bohdan Zacharko, 69, of High Holborn, London, and 54-year-old Philip Eremenko Thistledown Road, Clifton, were found guilty of various fraud and money laundering offences under the Criminal Law Act 1977, the Companies Act 2006 and the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Sentencing was adjourned to September 6.

The court heard that between 2014 and 2018, the six menwere involved with multiple companies which marketed and sold home improvement services, specifically exterior wall and roof coating products, which they claimed would improve energy efficiency and reduce household bills.

The companies included Energysave Central and its associated companies Energy Save Glass, Energysave Conservatories and Energy Save Group, as well asEnvirotherm Group (UK) and EVT Group.

Investigations by National Trading Standards East Midlands and supported by Derbyshire Constabulary and Derbyshire Council Trading Standards identified 62 victims, many of whom were elderly people living in vulnerable situations, with many aged in their 80s and 90s.

In some cases, vulnerable individuals were repeatedly and cynically targeted by the conmen for more and more work.

During the hearing which lasted almost six months, it was revealed the perpetrators often made initial contact with their victims from one of their companies’ call centres.

Following the initial cold call, victims were visited by a sales rep in their home, during which time they were subjected to scare tactics and pressure selling for wall and roof coatings that the fraudsters falsely claimed were “guaranteed” to cure damp and significantly reduce their heating bills.

Many felt pressurised into making a decision on the spot, for a ‘today only’ so called bargain, whereas in reality the price had been grossly inflated.

The six also refused to refund customers’ money when they cancelled within their cancellation period. In a number of cases, customers sued the company concerned in the county court and obtained judgements for the repayment of the money.

However, more often than not these judgements were ignored.

Coun John Cottee, Nottinghamshire Council cabinet member for communities, said: “Unfortunately, scammers often target those who are most vulnerable in our communities without a second thought, and this can have a devastating impact on victims and their families.

“I would like to thank all the victims who came forward and worked with our investigators to help bring this case to trial.

“Trading Standards service always advises residents to be alert to cold calling, never to trade or buy at the door and to always report any concerns.

"If something doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t and you should never be afraid to close the door on scammers and those who turn up out of the blue offering to fix problems you didn’t know or think that you had.”

Anyone who suspects that rogue traders are operating in their area is advised to contact Trading Standards on 0808 2231133.