Legal News
Father and Sons Jailed For Driveway Fraud (11 November 2011)
Date: 11/11/2011
A man and his twin sons have received a prison term after conning thousands of pounds out of elderly and vulnerable individuals in return for carrying out inadequate building work. Francis Tomney, Thomas Tomney, and Francis Tomney Jnr. targeted people across Lancashire, Hertfordshire, and Greater Manchester. The three main offered to perform driveway maintenance for extortionate sums of cash. One of their 80-year-old victims was informed by the men that a chemical sealant was used on his driveway when the fraudsters had in fact used milk.
The men, from Lancashire, filmed themselves in order to produce a promotional video to attract other unsuspecting customers. The men informed one pensioner to keep their cats indoors to prevent them from being poisoned by the “chemical sealant” they had used. Judge Michael Byrne told Preston Crown Court that he was satisfied that the men had, on each occasion, saw their customers as a way in which to generate cash and that the practices they had used to further their aim had been both dishonest and fraudulent.
Fifty-five-year-old Francis Tomney Snr. received a five-and-a-half-year jail sentence. His son Francis Tomney Jnr., was handed a five-year prison term while Thomas Tomney received a four-and-a-half-year spell in prison after providing guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to commit fraud. A fourth man and a relative to the father and sons gang, Brian Tomney, received a 15-month jail term for fraud and cheating the public.
Duncan Lewis’ criminal law solicitors can provide legal advice to clients who face charges of fraud.