Builder in court after carrying out shoddy work and leaving customers £100k out of pocket
A builder whose shoddy work saw his customers lose around £100,000 has pleaded guilty to multiple charges of fraud.
An investigation by Cornwall Council Trading Standards found James Lee Knight persuaded at least eight homeowners to pay for repairs or extension works he failed to finish.
Knight, from Hayle, advertised via Facebook using the names of Jay Knight or Jay Knight Masonry.
Between January 2017 and September 2020, the 44-year-old persuaded homeowners to pay for building work he had not finished.
Most of the work he did undertake was to such a poor standard it needed to be salvaged by other workers.
His victims told of the various excuses and “sob stories” he would give when challenged on the slow progress being made or when he simply stopped turning up.
Many had also been persuaded to make additional payments or order materials direct from the builders’ merchants on his behalf in order to try to get the work finished.
In one instance he then tried to re-sell some of the materials bought by the customer.
During the investigation, Trading Standards also discovered Knight had kept a rental car for months longer than he had paid for.
When threatened with police action he finally abandoned the vehicle in such an appalling condition it had to be removed from the fleet.
The team also uncovered other examples where Knight had commissioned services from other local businesses but had then not paid them.
On February 3 Knight appeared at Truro Crown Court where he admitted nine offences of fraud, one offence of theft and one of criminal damage.
He was ordered to return to the court on March 24 to be sentenced.
Rob Nolan, Cornwall Council Cabinet member for environment and public protection, said; "This man caused a lot of upset to homeowners who have lost significant amounts of money.
"I would like to thank our Trading Standards team who have worked so hard to bring this case to court and seek justice for the victims."
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