A crooked windows company boss conned 10 trusting elderly customers out of a total of nearly £40,000 by using high-pressure sales patter to persuade them to pay in advance for work that was never completed. Serial fraudster Jonathon O'Grady had money problems as well as a gambling addiction and he also needed plenty of cash to "keep women keen" by splashing out on "lavish trips and holidays" for them, Hull Crown Court heard.
He had a history of dishonesty and he had earlier been part of a high-profile scam involving a group of rogue builders who used a TV advertisement featuring Dot Cotton from EastEnders to swindle £1m from people looking for energy savings. O'Grady, 38, of Blackburn Avenue, Bridlington, denied 10 offences of fraud against customers but he was convicted by a jury after a trial.
Oliver Shipley, prosecuting, said that O'Grady owned a business called Grade A Home Improvements, with an address on the Promenade, Bridlington. It dealt in window installations, glazing, repairs, conservatories and uPVC doors.
O'Grady took money for work that was never completed. All 10 of the victims were senior citizens, aged up to 92 at the time of the visits to them.
In some cases, O'Grady went "over and above" in his initial visits and quoted for work that was not wanted and persuaded them to have it done. "The defendant would not leave until a deposit, often 50 per cent, had been paid there and then," said Mr Shipley.
"This was in order to secure some discount." In some cases, he would even drive the customer to a bank to withdraw money.
O'Grady was a "one-man-band" and he did everything, apart from the two most important parts, making the windows and fitting them. "These tasks were outsourced to other companies, other professionals," said Mr Shipley.
"The defendant spent his time going out and finding customers. Other companies would come and fit them and he would pay them a fee for doing so."
None of the work quoted for the 10 customers was ever completed. "He says that he fully intended to do the work that he quoted for," said Mr Shipley.
"The prosecution say that he was plainly dishonest. This money was used to pay off debt. These are all acts of desperation or greed to fill a void and a desire for money.
"He told police that he would use the next customer's money to pay for the previous customer's parts. He was robbing Peter to pay Paul."
When customers tried to contact O'Grady, he was "almost never reachable" and instead a man called Paul - "with a Scouse accent" - would answer the telephone. "Paul has never been identified," said Mr Shipley.
"The deposits were clearly not enough to fund the work that the defendant had committed himself to. In some cases, he went back for more money."
Nearly £40,000 was received from the 10 victims. They contacted the police and O'Grady was arrested on October 25, 2023. "His shop was searched and a number of items were seized by the police," said Mr Shipley.
O'Grady told the police that he was in debt and that his business was failing. He continued to take on new customers to pay off his debt. He admitted that he had no real cash to start the business in the first place," said Mr Shipley.
"His next customer's deposits were used to pay for previous customers' materials. He accepted that he had a gambling addiction and a lot of money was spent on other women - those he was trying to appease with lavish trips and holidays.
"He accepted that his spending was lavish. The defendant denies that he was dishonest. He says that he fully intended to fulfill customer orders. He accepts his financial management was lacking.
"Clearly, it was dishonest. Even on his account, he was taking money to use elsewhere to keep women keen."
In December last year, O'Grady was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, with 220 hours' unpaid work, after being convicted at Leeds Crown Court of two offences of fraudulent trading. He was banned from being a company director for six years.
He was part of a group of rogue builders who used a TV advertisement featuring the EastEnders character Dot Cotton to swindle £1m from people seeking energy savings under a Government scheme. He and three other men offered services across Yorkshire and Derbyshire but left vulnerable residents in structurally unsafe properties because of their shoddy workmanship.
They operated under various names and installed substandard, undersized and damaged windows in people's homes. Advertisements featured June Brown, who played Dot Cotton, and boxer Floyd Mayweather but neither of them had any knowledge of the crimes.
The fraudulent companies, which took advantage of a Government "Green Deal" initiative, cold-called customers and carried out poor quality work that resulted in damage to homeowners' walls and left large gaps.
Two other gang members, from Bradford, were jailed for six years and four months and for two-and-a-half years, to run consecutively to a sentence of seven years and 11 months he was already serving. A third man, from Bradford, was given 100 hours' unpaid work. You can read the full court report here.
O'Grady had been on bail during the latest fraud trial but he was remanded in custody to await sentence.
O'Grady asked a 78-year-old man in June 2023 if he needed any work doing. The pensioner declined but, a few days later, he asked O'Grady to do a survey.
O'Grady asked for a £2,500 deposit for work to be done, with a further £2,500 to be paid on completion. The pensioner paid £2,500 in cash there and then.
He asked about a side door, which would be extra, and O'Grady drove him to the bank to withdraw that cash. "As time went on and no work was ever completed, he tried to contact the defendant but hit a brick wall," said Mr Shipley.
"He did manage to speak to Paul with the Scouse accent. He said that he needed to pay a further £2,000 for the work to be carried out.
The pensioner went to the business address on the Promenade on a number of occasions but found that it was never open and that it was derelict.
"He even tried to post a letter cancelling the order but all attempts were unsuccessful," said Mr Shipley. "All the work was never completed and the deposit was never returned."
A 71-year-old woman approached O'Grady while he was at a neighbour's house in June 2023 and he carried out a survey of her home. "He had identified work that they had not expressed interest in doing," said Mr Shipley.
In order to secure discounts, she agreed to pay £1,925 from an overall £3,850. She was told that it would be five weeks for the glass to be made and fitted.
"There was complete radio silence," said Mr Shipley. "They eventually got through to Paul, who told them their order was on fast track." A date in August was agreed but nobody turned up that day.
Fitting dates in September were given. "They passed with no work ever completed and nobody turning up," said Mr Shipley.
There was an angry exchange with Paul, who blamed O'Grady. "They lost faith and wanted to cancel their living room windows but they were told that they had been made and manufactured so they were not able to cancel," said Mr Shipley.
O'Grady went to their home in October 2023 and he did cancel the contract, saying that there was a remaining £1,415 to pay. "They agreed further dates and the work was never carried out and the money never returned," said Mr Shipley.
A 71-year-old woman discussed uPVC windows and a replacement conservatory roof, costing £19,000 overall, with a £9,000 deposit to be paid there and then, in June 2023. "The defendant guaranteed that the work would be completed by the end of 2023," said Mr Shipley.
Despite repeated calls with Paul, nobody came. She demanded to see O'Grady, who promised that all the work would be done in the October or there would be a full refund.
"That date passed and no one had turned up," said Mr Shipley. Out of the blue, an independent fitter arrived and fitted two windows, although not properly.
A 92-year-old woman was quoted £3,000 to replace glass in a sun lounge and a kitchen window in July 2023. She said that she could not afford that and O'Grady discounted it to £1,500.
"She paid £750 cash there and then," said Mr Shipley. "She heard nothing."
She telephoned and was asked for another £500, which was collected from her home.
"She heard from nobody," said Mr Shipley. "She spoke to Paul and was consistently given excuses and got nowhere. No windows were ever fitted and no deposit was returned."
An 86-year-old woman agreed in July 2023 to have two windows fitted and she paid a £1,000 deposit by cheque. O'Grady cancelled fitting dates "time and time again" with no reasons given.
She was told that a further £1,000 was required to release window materials from the manufacturers. There was a "barrage of excuses" about the delay.
"She never heard anything," said Mr Shipley. "She never had her windows fitted nor did she ever get her money back."
A 79-year-old woman who had previously had a window and door fitted by O'Grady was told by him about a promotion. "He identified that the bathroom window needed replacing and that £500 should do the job," said Mr Shipley.
She paid for the work but it was not done in October 2023 and there was no communication. She tried to speak to O'Grady but she was told that the police had all his paperwork and that was why he could not carry out the work.
A 67-year-old man was quoted £5,000 for eight windows and paid £1,000 cash, with a further £1,000 the next day. "It was never completed," said Mr Shipley.
O'Grady visited a 78-year-old man's home in September 2023, introduced himself as a sales director and asked whether any windows needed replacing. He had "an air of professionalism" that encouraged the pensioner, who agreed to have three out of four windows replaced for a price of £2,895.
"He provided a cheque for £500," said Mr Shipley. The pensioner decided to have the fourth window done and paid a £275 cheque. A fitter attended and measured up the windows.
Paul gave excuses and claimed that the company computer was down. The man asked for his money to he returned but it never was. He chased up the matter but, by this time, O'Grady had already been arrested.
O'Grady asked a 79-year-old woman in September 2023 whether any of her windows needed replacing and, after inspecting her home, he told her that four needed to be done as well as a conservatory roof. "She was told that she must commit financially there and then," said Mr Shipley.
"She agreed despite feeling uneasy and nervous. She agreed to hand over a cheque for £2,000 for the windows." Paul phoned and encouraged her to have the conservatory roof done and O'Grady, in a "level of desperation", took her to see other conservatories in Bridlington that he had worked on.
She paid £5,000 cash for the conservatory work and another £1,000 cash for windows. O'Grady asked for another £8,500 and was given a cheque for that as well as £1,800 extra. No work was done and she never received her money back.
O'Grady visited a 73-year-old man unannounced in October 2023 and told him that work was needed. He said that there was a discount for being over 70 and offered to complete 20 windows, including in a conservatory, lounge and bathroom, for £3,500.
The man transferred £1,750 to O'Grady. The man's wife later returned home and questioned what had happened. Attempts were made to cancel. "No money was ever refunded and the work was never done," said Mr Shipley.