Dudley semi-pro darts player jailed after conning customers out of nearly £69k while running landscaping business
A Dudley semi-professional darts player has been jailed for 34 months after conning customers of his gardening and landscaping business out of nearly £69,000.
Kevin Bambrick thought he had hit the bullseye when he charged customers for work that he either never started or didn't complete, often producing false invoices for materials he said he had brought.
In a case brought by Dudley Council, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard the 36-year-old father of three - whose walk-on music is the Liquidator and nickname is BamBam - left bank accounts of some of his 11 victims empty and often became aggressive if they didn't come up with payments he said were needed for materials.
In many cases, Bambrick was either recommended by friends of people he was doing work for or would simply put himself forward for work on a neighbouring property when talking to the householders over the garden fence.
One of them - Fatima Mohammed - was driven to the point of illness after her dealings with Bambrick, who called at her home in Rowley Regis in July 2021 telling her he was working on a neighbour's property and asked her if she needed any work doing.
Mark Jackson, prosecuting said: "He subsequently told her he had been passed by Trading Standards and he was registered with 'Book a Builder'.
