A serial fraudster who targetted elderly victims got a shock when he returned to one of his victim’s doors only to be met by the Police.
Anthony Jarrett visited the 88-year-old woman’s home on four occasions in November after tricking her into agreeing to pay more than £700 for a painting job.
The shoddy work that Jarret did at the address was only worth around £120.
But Jarrett decided to take full advantage of his victim’s unassuming nature.
Jarrett even persuaded his 88-year-old victim to drive him to a supermarket where he used her bank card to withdraw cash.
In total, Jarrett stole more than £900 of her savings over three days.
After the victim’s nephew discovered her dwindling funds, police were called and found a makeshift receipt inside the woman’s South Tyneside home titled ‘AJ Services’.
Suspecting serial fraudster Jarrett was the likely culprit, officers hatched a plan and attended the woman’s home early the following day to try to catch the criminal red-handed.
When the morally corrupt 43-year-old crook knocked at the door, he was surprised to be greeted by police and was swiftly placed in handcuffs.
Jarrett, of Hudson Road, Sunderland, went on to admit fraud by false representation and was sentenced to two years in jail following a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court.
Detective Sergeant Emma Martin, of Northumbria Police, said:
“Anthony Jarrett is somebody who is well known to police and had only been released from prison four weeks earlier for similar fraud offences when he targeted this woman.
“He knowingly and willingly targeted a vulnerable member of the public, tricking her into handing over an extortionate amount of her hard-earned savings.
“He then added further insult to injury by asking his victim to drive him to a nearby supermarket. There, over a period of three days, he used her bank card to withdraw not only the sum of money agreed but a little extra as some kind of personal tip.
“Thankfully, we were alerted by the victim’s relative who noticed the sums of money that had disappeared from the account – and that allowed us to identify Jarrett as the likely offender.
“He certainly did not expect to be greeted by our cops when he knocked on the door of his victim – and now can look forward to a significant spell behind bars.”
In a statement prepared for court, the victim’s nephew said:
“This has definitely affected her confidence and belief in people.
“I would hope that the courts give the person a significant custodial sentence – he preys on vulnerable people and continues to do so.
“Our concern is that while we have been able to intervene, another vulnerable victim might not be so lucky.”
In February last year, Jarrett received a 20-month custodial term after admitting five counts of fraud by false representation at Newcastle Crown Court which involved him pocketing £3,000 in deposits for gardening and construction jobs that were not adequately carried out.
Det Sgt Martin has now urged families across Northumbria to be remain vigilant and check on vulnerable loved ones, particularly those who live alone.
“Unfortunately, these type of fraudsters look to target the most vulnerable in our communities and trick them into handing over their money,” Det Sgt Martin said.
“This type of exploitation will not be tolerated, and it is absolutely imperative individuals like Jarrett are brought to justice.
“It is equally important that the public, especially those who are isolated or living alone, are aware of this type of criminality and do not fall victim themselves.
“Please be vigilant if you are approached by a doorstep tradesman and do not hand over large sums of money before any work is carried out. If you are suspicious about somebody who knocks on your door, always report it to police.”
Anybody with concerns, or who is suspicious of a worker, is encouraged to ring 101.
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About time courts awarded significant sentences for crimes. Usually it a suspended sentence or wear ing a tag. When are they going to make the offender repay the proceeds of their crimes?
Unusually, it looks like he served all of his 20 month sentence. Within a month, this well known criminal is committing the exact same crime and ends up getting sentenced to 24 months inside. Wow. If 20 months made no difference, I am sure that 24 months will not either.
We do not know his conviction background, but if he is still behaving like this now he is in his mid 40s and presumably fairly grown up, it is reasonable to assume that he has a very considerable criminal history.
Had he been locked up very early on for significantly longer periods of time, this woman and many like her would not have been preyed upon.
The judiciary and the government continues to fail society as a whole, letting scum like this roam free, doing what they like. They should actually all be on 8 hour, 7 day shifts peddling exercise bikes hooked up to the national grid, providing renewable energy. Or perhaps a treadmill linked to a generator. For as long as there are criminals, and there always will be, we will have a genuinely reliable, 24/7 source of renewable energy.