Police target fraudsters and return thousands to victims of scams

Three people have been charged, 41 arrests made and at least £50,000 has been prevented from being paid out by victims across Kent as part of a crackdown on fraud.

Throughout February, rapid work by Kent Police officers saw criminals scuppered in their attempts to defraud people through different methods including romance fraud, unnecessary roof and building repairs and postal scams.

Criminal networks which profit by targeting and pressuring vulnerable victims were dismantled, leading to positive results and the ongoing work will help to keep the county safe.

During February:
• A total of £3,000 was saved from being lost to romance fraud by intervening and supporting victims.
• Officers disrupted four parcel delivery frauds by scammers, which led to £7,500 of goods being returned to victims of crime.
• Over £10,000 was seized during arrests and warrants carried out by police.
• A further £270,000 paid by victims through their bank accounts to fraudsters was recovered as officers guided them through the refund process with their banks.
• As part of the work to disrupt rogue traders, 15 vehicles also were seized as well as a pressure washer.

During the morning of Monday 2 February, Kent Police received a report that an elderly woman had already lost £30,000 to rogue traders who were pressuring her to have more work carried out. The suspects were identified as a 43 year old man from Sittingbourne, and a 28 year old man from Maidstone, who were arrested. A van containing flyers advertising roofing work was seized. They have been released on bail while the investigation continues.

Patrols were also called to Ashford town centre on Wednesday 4 February following concerns about a man in his 70s who had wanted to withdraw a large sum of money which exceeded what would reasonably be expected for the type of work and length of time it took to complete. Officers’ enquiries led to two suspects being detained nearby. The two men, aged 38 and 25 and both from Dartford, were arrested on suspicion of fraud and remain under investigation.

On Wednesday 25 February, police received a call about rogue traders trying to charge a Sevenoaks resident hundreds of pounds for driveway cleaning work they had not done. A 29-year old man from Dartford was arrested on suspicion of fraud and released on bail while the investigation continues.

Three men were also arrested on Wednesday 4 February in relation to a report that roof tiles of a Maidstone property had been tampered with on Wednesday 21 January in order to convince the occupant that urgent costly remedial work was needed.

Two 30-year old men, Jesse Harber, of School Lane in Swanley, and Dillon Lemon of Wordsworth Way, Dartford, as well as 35-year old Thomas Harber, of Darenth Wood Road, Darenth, were each charged with fraud. All three appeared at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on Friday 6 February and were bailed. The case will next be heard at Woolwich Crown Court on Friday 6 March.

Detective Inspector Ian Sanderson said:

‘Fraudsters target the most vulnerable people in our communities, they exploit those vulnerabilities to steal hard-earned money, often life savings. They do this because they think it is ‘easy’ crime that won’t be detected. But as this month-long operation has shown, we will not stand for this type of offending in Kent, and those who choose to do it will be caught and brought to justice.’

This activity was supported by Operation Henhouse, a National Economic Crime Centre initiative managed in partnership with City of London Police’s Lead Force Operations Room to provide funding to allow forces to undertake additional operational activity against fraudsters. The activity supports the national Stop! Think Fraud campaign.