A Burton-on-Trent conman has been jailed for seven years following a lengthy multi-agency investigation hosted by Nottinghamshire County Council. More than 200 victims gave evidence during a five month trial at Nottingham Crown Court, before a jury returned guilty verdicts last Friday.
Robin MacDonald, 45, of Park Row, Bretby, Burton-on-Trent, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation along with charges of fraudulent trading. His victims were mainly elderly and vulnerable people who fell victim to his £1.5 million renewable energy and home security scam.
In addition to the prison sentence, the judge, Recorder Penelope Stanistreet-Keen, also banned MacDonald from being a company director for 10 years. He had already agreed to a six-year disqualification, from July 2017, as a result of an investigation by liquidator Hayley Maddison for the Insolvency Service.
Nottinghamshire County Council hosted a multi-agency investigation by the East Midlands regional investigations team of National Trading Standards, with support from Derbyshire County Council’s trading standards team.
They uncovered evidence showing that between 2014 and 2015, MacDonald, repeatedly mis-sold products including solar panels through Sunpower Renewables Ltd and emergency medical buttons through a different company, Stirling Technologies Ltd, trading as Proshield Alarms.
Victims were often bullied and pressured by sales representatives into signing contracts for works which were then completed to a poor standard, with some creating structural instability in homes.
Proshield Alarms promised customers round the clock safety through products which would allegedly alert emergency services in the event that their alarm systems were triggered, with victims being misled through the deliberately false statements made by sales representatives and the marketing brochures.
MacDonald was found guilty by the jury. Other’s connected to the scam pleaded guilty:
Roy Hancher, 54, of Light Ash Lane, Coven, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading. He was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months; as well as a six year ban on being a director.
Nicola Mather, 44, of Spindletree Drive, Derby, pleaded guilty to money laundering. She was sentenced to one year imprisonment suspended for one year, in addition to 200 hours of unpaid community work.
“I’d like to thank and recognise all of the victims who came forward and worked with our investigators to bring this case to trial and these individuals to justice”, Nottinghamshire County Council’s interim director for place, Mark Walker, said at the conclusion of the trial. “These sentences show that the dishonest selling of products will not be tolerated.
“There is a saying that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is and sadly scammers hope to exploit this for their own gain. We would always advise residents to be alert to cold calling and to never buy at the door. If residents have any concerns or if something doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t, and nobody should ever be afraid to close the door.
“Scammers may turn up out of the blue offering something you didn’t think that you needed, but by working together to spot their behaviour we can make sure that they don’t take advantage of friends, loved ones and neighbours.”
Lord Michael Bichard, the independent chair of National Trading Standards, said: “MacDonald and his associates preyed on and took advantage of vulnerable people – stopping at nothing to get what they wanted.
“Lingering in the homes of their victims for hours, they bullied customers – many of them elderly – into signing contracts at vastly inflated prices for products they didn’t want or need.
“I hope that the sentences handed down today will provide some solace to the victims and serve as a powerful deterrent to anyone hoping to make money from fraudulently selling renewable energy and home safety products.”
Walker urged people who think they’ve fallen victim to a rogue trader to report this to the Citizens Advice consumer helpline by calling 0808 223 1133.
- The helpline also offers advice prior to agreeing a contract to purchase goods or services. The Stirling Technologies Ltd company in this report (company number 05025071) was dissolved in December 2016. It is not connected to a new company with the same name which was incorporated in September 2023 (company number 15150488).
