Fraudster jailed after conning customers across Cornwall with shoddy building work
Victim Maxine Corbett speaks outside of court
A rogue builder who conned homeowners across Cornwall has been jailed and ordered to pay back thousands to his victims - though it is unlikely they will ever see the money.
James Lee Knight, of Reawla Lane, Reawla in Hayle, advertised his building services on Facebook under the names of Jay Knight or Jay Knight Masonry.
But between January 2017 and September 2020, the 44-year-old persuaded at least eight homeowners to pay for repairs or extension works that he failed to finish.
Most of the work he did undertake was of such a poor standard it needed to be re-done by other firms. In total his victims lost just short of £100,000.
On February 3 this year, Knight admitted nine offences of fraud, one offence of theft and one of criminal damage at Truro Crown Court, following an investigation by Cornwall Council Trading Standards.
He appeared at Truro Crown Court again on Wednesday 24 March and was sentenced to two years and three months in prison.
He has to pay £86,913 in combined compensation to the victims, although Recorder Simon Levene said he does not know if the victims will ever see their money.
Recorder Levene said the last victim was the people of Cornwall left to pay £23,583 in prosecution costs through council tax.
Opening the case, Gregory Gordon said: “Each of the housing fraud victims noted the defendant quoted them for work, promising it would not take long. But these dates were invariably missed.
“The defendant demanded earlier payments were made saying he was stuck for money even though the work hadn’t been finished and what had been done wasn’t of an adequate standard.
“He would often charge the victims for building materials by sending them invoices.”
Mr Gordon then proceeded to outline the specifics of the case regarding each victim.
One victim was Maxine Corbett who hired Mr Knight to build a single-storey extension at the back of her property in 2017. She paid more than £5,000 to Mr Knight for the work, which eventually had to be condemned and restarted by another builder.
Mr Knight's work caused a raw sewage spill which had to be rectified and paid for by Ms Corbett, he often turned up late for work blaming car trouble and migraines and didn't have the correct tools for the job, including a wheelbarrow.
Maxine unsuccessfully instructed bailiffs to recover £6,018 from Mr Knight and has now had to take up a second job to pay back the mounting debt.
Speaking outside of Truro Crown Court, she said: "It was a nightmare, it just went on and on and on and he kept asking for more and more money.
"That was it, I had had enough. I ended up kicking him off site, ended up getting another builder in to do the work and he condemned everything he had done.
"It had to be taken back and started from scratch."
Another example of Mr Knight's terrible work took place between June and September 2019 at Christine and Fred Carr's home near Camborne.
They paid Knight £19,500 to build a single-storey extension at the back of their property.
Knight failed to provide the required paperwork, often failed to turn up to work and was unprofessional, occasionally bringing his girlfriend along, saying she was a labourer.
Christine and Fred told ITV News they felt Mr Knight took their kindness for weakness. After starting work in June, he was nowhere near finished three months later.
The couple said: "In September there was no roof, nowhere near a window height. So we got the building inspector back in, he had a look around and he said ‘no way’, so I said you have to go."
It was clear he was not going to carry out the work so the couple dismissed Knight. They discovered he had not fitted a roof properly and windows and walls were not secured.
There was a damp ingress and although Knight offered to repay them, the couple never received a penny.
The couple said in a victim impact statement they felt Knight took advantage of their age and vulnerability and saw them as a cash machine. Knight also got them to purchase building supplies but took them and listed them for sale on the Lets Flog It Cornwall Facebook page.
Other victims homes were left uninhabitable by Mr Knight due to the poor quality of his work, some properties were left exposed to the elements and water ingress, insecure and even dangerous.
One victim Jane Tibbs said in her victim impact statement Mr Knight had turned her dream of moving to Cornwall to be closer to her family into a nightmare, she said her home had been left with no amenities and she fears she will have to sell it.
Representing Knight, Ramsay Quaife said: “His father is unwell and suffering with a variation of motor neurone disease with the defendant effectively caring for him. He continues to work as a bricklayer and has pretty much sorted himself out.”
Sentencing Knight, Recorder Simon Levene said: “Essentially you were a dishonest builder who took clients for a ride and took a lot of money off them. You did a really terrible job.“There has been a long-lasting effect on the victims. If you stole money but left houses in a beautiful condition that would be one thing, but this is different altogether.“The cost to your victim to put right your workmanship shows how serious the fraud is.”
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