Fraudster targeted ill man and jeopardised company

A persistent fraudster who targeted an ill man and jeopardised a glazing company by abusing their fuel card has been jailed for 15 months.

Rogue contractor James Adams, 49, already had a history of defrauding customers when he took £210 from a man recovering from a stroke for non-existent work, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

He also stole more than £1,000 from a window business that briefly employed him by using their fuel card to fill up his own vehicles and the cars of others, with the company owner saying his actions "potentially ruined" the firm.

Adams, from Blyth, Northumberland, was found guilty of the offences against the man and admitted defrauding the window company.

Adams, of Plessey Road, was first convicted of fraud in 2018 when he purported to work for a glazing company to get lead from a builders' merchants, judge Julie Clemitson said.

Within weeks of having been given a six-month conditional discharge, Adams started taking money from customers for fitting doors which he never did or gave refunds for, the court heard.

That resulted in a suspended sentence with unpaid work being imposed in 2019, but within a short period the duration of the time he had to complete the work in had to be extended because of Adams' failure to do any tasks, the court heard.

The order was disrupted further by the coronavirus pandemic with Adams having completed just one hour of unpaid work in total, the judge said.

In March 2023 Adams was given another suspended sentence for offences committed in 2021 when he again took money for roofing and guttering work from several people which he failed to do or refund, the court heard.

At about the same time he got a job for a small glazing company, making excuses to them about why a criminal record check which would have revealed his crook history could not be completed, the judge said.

Through the company, he met a 67-year-old man who was recovering from a stroke and needed a new window installing at an allotment glasshouse, the judge said.

Adams took a total of £210 from the man but never did the promised work and again failed to give a refund when requested, the court heard.

In a statement read to the court, the man said Adams' actions had caused great stress and anxiety at a time when he was recovering from a serious illness.

At the same time, Adams was abusing a fuel card given to him by the company to fill up the work van, the court heard.

His boss became suspicious when a weekly fuel bill came in at double the usual amount, with investigations revealing Adams had spent more than £1,000 filling up his own car and the cars of others at his employer's expense, the court heard.

At the time of the fraud, the firm's owner said Adams' actions had "potentially ruined the company" and cost three people their livelihoods, adding: "I feel betrayed and so let down, I fear I will lose my company."

The court heard the company had only survived after the owner put more money into it to cover the money spent by Adams.

Judge Clemitson said Adams had had a "string" of similar offending and did not seem to have been deterred by previous court sentences.

Adams was also paid to £400 compensation split equally between the allotment man and the window company.

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