Elderly victims targeted in 'skilful' fraud, court hears
Staff at a roofing firm conducted a 'carefully planned, skilfully executed' fraud targeting elderly homeowners, a court heard.
Julie Barrett, aged 50, Alan Wilson, 54, and Christopher Wilkes, 45, are all charged with fraud in connection with trying to con customers in Dudley into buying a thermal coating for their roofs.
Mark Jackson, prosecuting at Wolverhampton Crown Court, rubbished many of the claims made by the team at Therma Seal (Thermal Coatings) UK as 'lies' as he began summing up the prosecution case.
Mr Jackson said Barrett, a sales representative, claimed the thermal coating she was trying to sell would make a heat saving of between 15 per cent and 40 per cent. There were also claims that it would reduce heat loss by 25 per cent and produce substantial financial savings, all of which were 'lies', he told the court.
Mr Jackson said the company had gone through several name changes to avoid charges to the HMRC, while Barrett had said the cost of re-roofing would be far more than using the coating to entice customers.
"This was, as I told you at the outset, a scam from start to finish, carefully planned, skilfully executed," he told the jury.
"Lie after lie after lie is what is going on here."
Barrett, of Hewell Avenue, Bromsgrove, Wilson, of Fazeley Road, Tamworth, and Wilkes, of Tanworth Lane, Solihull, have all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The trial continues.
