A "rogue trader" forced an elderly woman to cut down on her food and heating bills as he conned her out of nearly £33k.
Michael Lynch, 38 of Wordsworth Avenue, Widnes, was first introduced to his 75-year-old victim by a neighbour in 2019, Henry Riding, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, January 17.
Lynch befriended the elderly woman and started by charging her for shoddy or non-existent building repairs and later got her to stand as a guarantor for a £6,000 loan purportedly for his business.
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Lynch, who told her he had a building contract worth more than £2m lined up, also got several telephone contracts taken out in her name costing about £7,000, falsely saying he would repay her, and using her credit card to withdraw cash and buy items in a sports shop and off licences.
Mr Riding explained that Lynch had taken advantage of his victim's sheltered life.
Her brother and sister had kept an eye on her but her brother died in 2017 - which she had never got over - and her sister died in 2019.
He used to tell her she was “family” to him and like “a second mother”.
Taken in by his deceit she described him as “kind” and told how he had even invited her to a family wedding in Ireland.
Some of his cheating behaviour came to light when they went to her bank together and he posed as her son.
They went to the bank about a £6,000 loan with her as a guarantor but staff were suspicious about this, and also about a £2,000 debt on her credit card.
She admitted he was not her son and said she had given him her credit card to buy a second hand van for his business. However it was shown he had used it at JD Sports and off licences. She had also taken out another loan for him with another lender.
After telling her “a sob story” she loaned him a television, laptop and mobile phone, left to her by her late brother but she never saw any of these “borrowed” items again.
After the trip to the bank, staff alerted the police but after Lynch was released under investigation he persuaded her of his innocence, dissuading her from pursuing a complaint, and so he was able to continue offending, said Mr Riding.
But later that year, 2019, she broke down in tears at a family meal about what had been happening and the police were contacted again.
Mr Riding said the victim had been pursed by various creditors and ended up having to deal with bailiffs and in the hands of debt collectors.
She told how the creditors’ letters would leave her “shaking” and she would feel so ill she thought she was having a stroke and feared she would lose her home.
She told how she was “stressed and could not sleep and her body was screaming out with just anxiety". She had to survive financially on the “bare minimum” and had to cut down on her food and heating bills.
Judge David Aubrey, QC, jailed Lynch for 43 months in Liverpool Crown Court after he pleaded guilty to four fraud and one theft offence
Brendan Carville, defending, said that Lynch had pleaded guilty and has no previous convictions. He said that through him the defendant apologised to his victim.
Mr Carville also told the court that Lynch’s girlfriend is heavily pregnant with their first child and he has taken on the responsibility for her two children.
Judge Aubrey, QC, praised the 75-year-old victim, who sat in the public gallery, for her courage and dignity before slamming the defendant for his “mean, despicable and contemptible” crimes.
Judge Aubrey said: "You are a conman, a rogue trader and a charlatan, who preyed upon her while she was grieving, by charm, deceit and guile.
"You inveigled your way into her life, her house, her bank account and her credit card."
The court heard in mitigation that Lynch had pleaded guilty and has no previous convictions.
Speaking after the case Detective Inspector Steve Ball from the Economic Crime Team of Merseyside Police said: “Lynch was a confidence trickster who took advantage of a vulnerable woman and deceived her whilst portraying himself as a friendly, caring individual.
“His actions have had a devastating impact on his victim and her ability to trust the people around her.
“To befriend a vulnerable person and then target them in such a way for monetary gain is shocking.
“Everyone has the right to feel safe and secure in their own homes. This was the ultimate breach of trust and I hope that the lady will be able to move on from this now Lynch is behind bars and his actions made public."
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