Alan Gary Middleton, 45, of Merlin Close, Rugby, traded as GK Builders, G & K Builders, Middleton Building Services, AGM Custom Construction and AGM Bespoke Construction Limited, and operated across Suffolk, previously living in Saxmundham.
Suffolk Trading Standards began their investigation into Middleton after receiving reports of customers who had paid for building work to be carried out only to have this never completed.
To placate his victims, Middleton advised that he “would only work on one property at a time”, but consumers quickly became aware that he was working on multiple projects to the detriment of their own building works.
The investigation also uncovered that Middleton was using various tactics to extract more money from customers, including falsifying supplier invoices and using a fake VAT number, with one customer asked to pay £25,000 in VAT alone.
In addition, he had declared himself bankrupt but failed to disclose this to consumers despite this being a legal obligation.
Once Middleton realised that Suffolk Trading Standards was investigating him, he reverted to using the name Alan Middleton for business, having previously used Gary Middleton.
Graham Crisp, Head of Suffolk Trading Standards, said:
“Sadly, we have spoken to several consumers who were taken advantage of by Middleton, with many using their life savings or taking out loans to pay for the work in an attempt to achieve their dream home.
“Middleton’s greed saw him do whatever he could to extract money from his victims, including falsifying invoices to claim £170,000 in VAT despite not being registered.
“He also forged insurance documents to mislead people into thinking their properties were protected, and endangered lives by incorrectly stating that building control was not required for projects when this was in fact needed.”
At a hearing at Hendon Magistrates Court (acting as a Nightingale Crown Court) yesterday (Tuesday, 6 June), Gary Middleton pleaded guilty to 4 offences of Fraud by False Representation under Fraud Act 2006 and 1 offence of theft.
At a previous hearing Gary Middleton and his wife Katie Middleton, 34, of Merlin Close, Rugby both pleaded guilty to two counts of fraudulently obtain a mortgage for themselves worth £400k.
Both will appear in court for sentencing on 14th July.
Councillor Andrew Reid, Suffolk County Council’s cabinet member for Public Health and Public Protection, commented:
“Customers put their trust in Middleton only for him to disappear part way through a job, causing untold distress when they had to finance the completion of his work.
“The work that was carried out by Middleton was often of a poor standard leaving his victims spending years trying to rectify his mistakes and ensure that what he had done was safe and legally compliant. In one case an extension built by Middleton had to be knocked down to the foundations and started again.
“I hope that yesterday’s plea and subsequent sentencing will go some way to seeking justice for those who are still paying the price for Middleton’s actions.”
Anyone who believes they may have been the victim of a fraudulent or substandard trader should contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.
