Rogue trader jailed for failing to pay back proceeds of crime money

A Carmarthenshire rogue trader was jailed for 19 months after he failed to pay money back to the victims of his rogue trading.

Richard Victor Rees, of Burry Port, Carmarthenshire, attended Swansea Magistrates Court on Wednesday 24 September 2014. He appeared before District Judge Richard Williams in an enforcement hearing to answer why he had not paid monies to victims and Powys County Council’s costs, as ordered by Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court.

This latest enforcement hearing was linked to a Proceeds of Crime investigation following a successful prosecution of Rees for targeting vulnerable elderly people.

In February 2014, Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court ordered the handing over of approximately £80,000 of the trader’s assets to be paid as compensation to 16 sets of victims who the trader had taken money off. The court ordered that the order must be paid in six months and that a default sentence of 19 months imprisonment would be imposed if it was not paid in the time period laid out.

In the same hearing, the court also ordered the trader to pay approximately £41,000 in costs within six months after an application from the council’s Trading Standards Service. These costs were the cost of the original investigation.

The Proceeds of Crime action took place after the trader was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, in August 2012, for using aggressive commercial practices across Powys and parts of south Wales. The trader had pleaded guilty to seven charges including ‘Aggressive Commercial Practices’ offences under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations in April 2012. Mr Rees was taken away to start his sentence in jail.

Clive Jones, the council's Professional Lead for Trading Standards, said: “In this case the £80,000 confiscation will go back to the victims who were traumatised by the activities of this trader which is clearly some form of justice to the harm caused.

We would like to thank Dyfed Powys Police’s Financial Investigation Team and Scambusters Wales who helped in the original action. We see such actions as a clear deterrent to any that attempt these illegal ventures and financial investigation is now an important part of our toolkit to deal with offenders.”

Matthew Cridland, the Wales Scambusters Project Manager at Newport City Council, explained: “The Scam Busters Team is pleased with the robust enforcement action taken by Powys Trading Standards. Scambusters is committed to targeting rogue trading across Wales and successful partnership working, as has been demonstrated with Operation Diamond, is the cornerstone of its efforts.”

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For more information about this case contact the regional Scambusters office on (insert regional number).

For more general enquiries regarding the National Trading Standards Board please call 020 7025 7570 or e-mail nationaltradingstandards@grayling.com.