Con-man who took advantage of vulnerable Bucks pensioner is jailed

A criminal who was party to conning a vulnerable older person out of £17,000 has been sentenced in court after being found guilty of fraudulent trading at an earlier trial.

Miles Cassidy, Director of the company Watford UPVC and Roofing Limited, was convicted of one count of fraudulent trading after a homeowner from Prestwood was scammed out of thousands of pounds in the process of electronic payment being taken for works carried out to their property.

Appearing at Aylesbury Crown Court on Wednesday 14 May 2025, Cassidy was sentenced to a total of 15 months and two weeks in prison. He was also banned from being a director of any company for a period of six years.

The case was investigated and prosecuted by Buckinghamshire & Surrey Trading Standards Service. At the criminal trial in June, details of the case against Cassidy were laid out. The court heard how on 19 November 2021, the victim spoke to two men, one of whom was Mr Cassidy, having got their details from a business flyer sent to a neighbour's address. 

The men agreed for works to be undertaken to the roof of the homeowner's property and a contract was agreed stating a cost of £6,450. On 19 November 2021 the homeowner paid an £800 deposit on request. On 22 November 2021 the homeowner paid a further £3,750 for other works. A further payment for £6,450 was made the same day.  A problem arose with the card reader provided at the time, but a number of weeks later on reviewing his bank statement, the homeowner discovered that on 22 November 2021 an unauthorised withdrawal of £6,000 had been made from his bank account.  

In total, between 19 and 23 November 2021, £17,000 was paid to bank accounts owned by Cassidy and shortly after withdrawn from the accounts.

In addition to the fraudulent payment, the homeowner was so dissatisfied with the work completed that he contacted another local roofing contractor to inspect the work.  The new contractor indicated multiple defects and undertook remedial works for the cost of £460.

In court, the prosecution argued that the company owned by Cassidy was trading fraudulently in its dealings with the homeowner. Fraudulent representations were made to which Cassidy was a party, money was stolen from the victim via a chip and pin machine and the proceeds of this criminal activity were laundered by Cassidy.

At the trial, the jury unanimously returned a guilty verdict within an hour and a half on the charge of fraudulent trading.

At the hearing on 14 May, the sentencing judge, HHJ Keeley, praised the work of the Buckinghamshire and Surrey Trading Standards team, saying: "Thank you for your hard work, these cases are really difficult to investigate and prosecute. I thank you for your industry".