Building works scammers laundered £330k proceeds

A fraudster at the centre of a group that pressured homeowners into unnecessary building works and laundered the proceeds has been jailed.

Lee Cross, 55, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court on Thursday to eight years and seven months in prison for fraud and money laundering offences.

Surrey Trading Standards said Cross, from Romford, east London, was part of a group that laundered more than £330,000 stolen from victims across Surrey, Essex and London.

Trading standards officer David Bullen said Cross's punishment was "certainly up there amongst the longest sentences that we ever get in trading standards".

Members of the group were on trial between 22 September and 13 November, which resulted in multiple guilty verdicts for money laundering offences.

The following sentences were handed down to other members of the criminal network:

• Zoe Hoskyn, 40, from Hornchurch, east London, was handed a two-year suspended prison sentence.
• Jason Walker, 35, from Blackburn in Lancashire, was given a two-year suspended sentence and ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work.
• Pauline Walker, 71, from Romford, was handed a 22-month suspended prison sentence.
• Sorisa Richardson, 45, from Romford, was given a 12-month community order.

Homeowners were misled between February and September 2019 with claims of urgent repairs and asked to pay deposits for cranes and scaffolding that were never required or provided, Surrey Trading Standards said.

"Evidence showed Cross was aware of the frauds and provided banking infrastructure to launder funds, moving money rapidly between accounts and withdrawing large amounts in cash," investigators said.

Bullen told BBC Radio Surrey: "There were a significant number of bank accounts, there were false names used, there were false business names used, there was the taking of legitimate businesses and falsely associating themselves with those businesses and it made it very complex to investigate."

In Epsom, two elderly siblings lost almost £150,000 after being repeatedly pressured into paying for work that did not need to be done, according to investigators.

Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said: "The harm caused by this type of fraud goes far beyond the money stolen, often leaving victims robbed of their confidence, independence and peace of mind.

"This investigation uncovered a vast network designed to move and hide stolen money, all while victims were left counting the cost."

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