Two Poole men sentenced for their part in defrauding elderly man
Brothers Billy Banks and Jake Holland received suspended prison terms
Two men from Poole have been sentenced for their part in defrauding an elderly man out of £50,000.
30 year old Billy Banks, and his brother, 27 year old Jake Holland, each received a nine month prison term, suspended for 12 months.
Holland will also have to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £200 in costs.
Both of the men must also pay a victim surcharge.
What happened?
In May 2020, a man who was aged 84 at the time, was cold called by a man who claimed to have seen a loose roof tile on his property.
He told the victim he had a spare tile in the van and could carry out the repair.
The rogue traders then visited the property on a number of occasions, entering the loft hatch and telling the elderly man that poisonous paint has been used there.
The victim has dementia, and cannot recall how much he gave the trader, but financial checks show six cash withdrawals totalling £20,500.
Two cheques were also written out for £18,000 each, which were given to Banks and Holland.
The incidents happened in Corsham, Wiltshire - with the Council's Trading Standards team called in to investigate.
They inspected the work and found it to be substandard.
Banks and Holland were arrested and told officers they had been approached by a male in Poole who claimed to know Banks, and asked if they would put cheques into their accounts for him.
The money was then withdrawn as cash or transferred to other accounts over the next few days.
Neither Banks or Holland were able to provide a name for the male or explain why the victim had written the cheques out in their names.
Banks and Holland admitted laundering the money which they knew or suspected to be criminal property.
Cllr Nick Holder, Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member for Public Protection said:
“Banks and Holland were not involved with the work carried out at the victim’s property, but by allowing their bank accounts to be used they have hindered our Trading Standards team in identifying the rogue traders by acting as money mules. If a criminal asks you to receive money into your bank account and then you knowingly withdraw it or transfer it into another account, keeping some of the cash for yourself, then you’re a money mule.
“Money laundering is a crime which could result in a 14-year prison sentence so we hope this case and sentence makes people take notice and not carry out this crime that can devastate people’s lives.”