Members of a 22-strong criminal network behind a £1m building fraud have been jailed for a combined total of more than 63 years at Teesside Crown Court, with 12 defendants sentenced.
The gang deliberately targeted vulnerable people, including the elderly, isolated and unwell, extracting money from 43 victims across Teesside, County Durham, Northumberland, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire between 2021 and 2024.
Homeowners were typically cold-called about minor jobs before being pressured into paying vastly inflated prices for unnecessary or poor-quality work.
The case followed an investigation by National Trading Standards, which began after Middlesbrough's Trading Standards team received complaints from nine elderly victims in Marton.
It also uncovered an extensive money laundering network moving victims' funds through numerous bank accounts.
Lord Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said the offenders had shown ‘calculated criminality that caused serious financial and emotional harm.’
Cllr Ian Blades, Middlesbrough Council’s Executive member for Neighbourhoods, said: ‘Congratulations to all involved in this complex investigation which has taken some truly callous and dangerous people off the streets.
‘By preying on the elderly and the vulnerable they spread untold misery, but this case sends out a clear message that they can and will be caught and brought to justice.’
