Four convicted of defrauding £250,000 from elderly victims

Four men have been convicted of defrauding vulnerable and elderly victims, taking £250,000 from one man in one of the worst cases trading standards has seen.

The gang repeatedly victimised the pensioner, who suffers from Parkinson's disease, over an eight-year period.

Monty David Croke, 46, from Pickering, North Yorkshire, along with Monty Croke Jr, 26, Billy Croke, 23, and James Coverdale, 35, all admitted scamming householders through shoddy and unnecessary property repairs.

Other victims they targeted included a 70-year-old man who lost £12,200 and a woman in her 80s suffering from dementia who lost £18,532.

They also took £26,638 from a couple in their 80s and 90s, most of which came in just an eight-week period.

Sentencing them at Teesside Crown Court, Judge Tony Briggs said their actions had caused a considerable amount of hardship and upset.

At a previous hearing he described them as "devious, persuasive and ruthless in the pursuit of money".

North Yorkshire County Council trading standards department, which began the investigation in October 2012, said it was the worst case of repeat victimisation it had ever encountered.

The man defrauded of £250,000, from Malton, North Yorkshire, said at one stage he had believed Croke to be his friend:

His family said they were indebted to the carer who first brought the issue to the attention of the authorities.

Monty David Croke was jailed for five years, Monty Croke Jnr for two and a half years, Billy Croke for 12 months and Coverdale for 15 months, suspended for two years.

County Councillor Chris Metcalfe, executive member for trading standards, said:

Click below to watch Grace Melody-Gardner's report: