Man faces jail for scamming pensioner into paying £56k for gardening work including £42k for artificial grass

A rogue trader is facing jail for scamming a 90-year-old man into paying over £56K for gardening work - including a bill for £42K to install artificial grass. Michael Gorman, 46, also charged his elderly victim, Roy Wilcox, £900 to remove some small trees; £1,400 for a new fence; and £12,500 to install concrete paving.

The court heard he took advantage of Mr Wilcox as he was vulnerable and lived alone - and he was only brought to justice when the victim's bank raised suspicions about the staggering bill.

Gorman admitted three counts of fraud at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday (January 2) but was not jailed immediately so he could arrange for care to be provided for his own elderly mother who has dementia. Warning Gorman, of Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, that he faced inevitable jail, the judge commented this was “ironic” given his offending.

Amber Athill, prosecuting, said: “Mr Wilcox lives alone, has no close family and is inherently vulnerable. The defendant took advantage of this. Between November 2021 and April 2022, he dishonestly and gratuitously overcharged him for gardening works.”

Mr Wilcox had been snared by the fraudster after he spotted an advertisement for a company called MG Garden and Tree Services in Round and About Magazine, a court heard. Ms Athill said readers were offered a “free quote with expert advice” and “10 per cent off for OAPs”.

Mr Wilcox, who wanted some small trees removed in his garden, had called the company and Gorman, attended his home in Reading, on November 8, 2021. For all the work Gorman carried out on the property, he never gave the victim any any advance warning of what the price would be and never provided a receipt.

Reading Crown Court heard he had begun to call Mr Wilcox and turn up at his home, once appearing on his doorstep and asking for £40 in cash for fuel. Ms Athill showed the court photographs of Mr Wilcox’s home which showed evidence of how vulnerable he was.

Ms Athill said: “It shows how unlikely it was that he would want to spend thousands of pounds on outside works when his inside living conditions were sadly so poor. It would be clear to any visitor or tradesman that Mr Wilcox was vulnerable and so an easy target for the defendant to befriend and defraud.”

Gorman’s offending came to light when he tried to charge Mr Wilcox £42,000 for the installation of artificial grass - as it was reported as a suspicious transaction attempt by his bank. Mr Wilcox told the court he was “a little surprised and shocked” at the cost, but that he trusted Gorman and so wrote him a cheque, which bounced because the victim’s account was overdrawn.

When Mr Wilcox went to his bank’s local branch to investigate why his cheque had not cleared, staff became concerned and called the police. Gorman was arrested and gave a no-comment interview to police in October 2022.

In a victim impact statement, Mr Wilcox said he felt it was his own fault that he had become a victim of the offence. He said Gorman was “very friendly and did the work quickly and well”. Mr Wilxox said: “I trusted he would give me a fair price because I did not know the going rate for such work. I did not know of any way to check if the cost was reasonable or not. It is my own fault if I did not look into the matter further.”

Gorman had no previous convictions and admitted three counts of fraud during the hearing. In mitigation, Adam Williams said that Gorman’s 83-year-old mother had dementia and that he was caring for her four nights every week.

Judge Heather Norton said it was “difficult to conceive” of her not jailing Gorman immediately for his crimes, but decided to adjourn the case so arrangements could be put in place to care for Gorman’s mother. The judge told him: “You targeted a very vulnerable person. It is ironic that I am being persuaded to adjourn this case so that you can do something to assist someone who is also an elderly and vulnerable person. There it is.”

Williams is scheduled to reappear in Reading Crown Court on January 29.