Peterborough conman charged blind woman (69) £49,000 for work worth £1,000

A Peterborough conman who took £40,000 from an elderly blind woman from as payment for work worth less than £1,000 wasted most of the cash in a bookies, a court has heard.

Adam Loveridge (41) told his 69-year-old victim that her house in Orton Goldhay needed thousands of pounds of repairs done to it.

But despite charging her £49,000, he barely completed any work. Loveridge pleaded guilty to six counts of fraud covering 12 months from February last year.

Loveridge, of the Norwood Lane Caravan Site, Paston, Peterborough was jailed for three-and-a-half years at Peterborough Crown Court.

He told the court he only had £3,000 of the cash left after spending the rest in gambling machines.

Hugh Vass, prosecuting, said: “Loveridge took £40,080, but he would have taken £9,000 more if the bank had not stopped payments. The victim is the stereotype of a vulnerable victim. She is a 69-year-old lady who lives alone and is totally blind.

“Loveridge cold called at her home, and pressurised her into having work done. But being blind she could not see if the work had been completed or not.”

Mr Vass said a surveyor had been to see the work after Loveridge’s arrest, and said the value of the improvements would have been worth less than £1,000.

When he was arrested, Loveridge claimed he thought his victim was only paying him a small amount, as he could not read or write, and therefore could not read the cheques.

But he later admitted his guilt.

Neil Corre, defending, said Loveridge had shown some empathy for his victim.

Mr Corre also said he admitted the offences would lead to ‘moral indignation’ from the public.

Recorder Richard Carey said Loveridge would have carried on taking money if the victims’ bank had not raised concerns with the police.

He said: “What you did was to charge obscene amounts. You targeted a vulnerable victim and rejoiced in her money for more than a year.”

To read the story in the Peterborough Telegraph Click Here