A rogue builder and landscaper from Wigston has been jailed for 71 months – just under six years – after admitting to defrauding eight customers of a total of £37,000.
Lee Paul Smith, of Godwin Court in Wigston, was prosecuted by Leicestershire County Council’s Trading Standards for fraudulent trading contrary to s993 of the Companies Act 2006.
Picture credit: Pukaar News
Smith appeared at Leicester Crown Court, sitting at Leicester Magistrates Court, on Friday 17 January, where he was sentenced to 71 months imprisonment. He was also disqualified from acting as a director of any company for 10 years.
The court heard that Smith was the sole director of a limited company, H&L Building and Landscaping Ltd, which offered landscape gardening work and small-scale general building services.
Smith and his company began to operate and quote for work between April 2020 and August 2020, advertising on Facebook, promotional boards outside properties or adverts in ‘The Big Red’ magazine.
Leicestershire County Council Trading Standards investigated after receiving a number of complaints about the company. Officers initially identified eight victims who had parted with money to Smith. Between April and August 2020, approximately £37,000 was paid to Smith by these eight victims, but he had only carried out work for two of them.
Work either did not start or was completed incompetently. The court was told that after paying money to Smith as deposit for materials, most of the victims were given a series of excuses by Smith as to why work had not been started and which Trading Standards discovered to be untrue.
In some cases, Smith lied to his victims about his Army career, stating that he had served in Afghanistan. This gave significant reassurance to some of his victims and persuaded them to do business with him. Trading Standards made enquiries with the Ministry of Defence, which confirmed this was untrue. Smith had been in the army between 2003 and 2005 but had never served overseas during that time, having been discharged due to ‘services no longer required’.
At his sentencing before Her Honour Judge Herbert, counsel for the prosecution, Matthew Rowcliffe, told the court that Smith had relevant previous convictions for similar offences. In 2012, he was prosecuted at Exeter Crown Court for fraud offences committed in Devon between 2010 and 2011 concerning identical conduct.
The Judge was also told that during their investigation, Trading Standards had found many more potential victims of Smith’s fraudulent trading who did not wish to become involved or give evidence. The financial turnover of the company during the period of offending was estimated to be approximately £86,000.
Representing Smith, his counsel said: “Since these offences, he has turned his life around. He was working in a garage as a mechanic, his flat was rented from a housing association. While in custody, he has been seeking medical help. He wants to engage fully with that process in order to improve himself as a person. He apologises to the victims and says that if he could go back he would.”
Passing sentence, Her Honour Judge Herbert said: “You are a thoroughly dishonest man, throughout your adult life you have preyed on countless people and you are a compulsive liar. That much is clear from your antecedent history, which demonstrates the most appalling record of fraudulent activity that I certainly can recall having seen.
“You act with callous disregard for the property and wellbeing of other people. And in my judgement you lack all empathy for the distress you caused. There is little by way of mitigation that can be said for you.
“You have shown yourself over your adult life to be a completely irreformable fraudster. At no point, over your record is there any sense that there has been any successful rehabilitation, despite the variety of sentences given to you over the years.”
Gary Connors, head of regulatory services at Leicestershire County Council, said: “Persistent offending of this nature will be met with robust Trading Standards enforcement response. The sentence sends out a clear message; those that engage in this fraudulent activity, often under the façade of a trading company, could face a lengthy prison sentence.
“Leicestershire County Council Trading Standards will not hesitate to investigate and take action against this sort of unscrupulous and dishonest activity”.
