Fraudster conned elderly man with dementia and stole three iPhones from him
A fraudster who posed as a builder and conned multiple elderly people out of thousands of pounds in Gloucester has been sentenced.
Dean Croucher stole around £10,000 from vulnerable victims and admitted defrauding two elderly people between February 2021 and December 2023.
The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to four counts of fraud and two counts of theft at Gloucester Crown Court on Friday 14 June.
Croucher convinced an elderly man with dementia to pay him more than £6,000 for items for his garden, which never materialised. The fraudster also stole three iPhones from him.
Separately, Croucher charged an elderly woman who had recently been widowed £2,240 to clear her garden - almost three times the amount he had originally quoted her. The money also included payments for skips that he never actually ordered or used.
The judge sentenced Croucher to pay £1,800 in compensation to his victims and to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, at Gloucester Crown Court on 23 July.
He was also given two restraining orders and two community orders.
Sergeant Tom Francis, from the Gloucester Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Historically, these offences can be difficult to detect owing to the vulnerabilities of the victims involved and the calculating nature of those responsible for such offences.
“Thanks to the dedication of PC Luke Savigar-Jones, who has invested hundreds of hours into collecting evidence as well as safeguarding one of Croucher’s victims, we were able to bring this case to court.
“I would also like to praise the victims for coming forward and reporting the incidents to us in the first place.
"Sometimes victims of rogue traders may not be aware that they are being defrauded so I would urge anyone who is concerned about an elderly or vulnerable friend or relative to report it to police”.
The force offers advice on how to avoid being defrauded on it's website, while any suspected fraud cases can be reported to Action Fraud online.