Rogue builder who defrauded customers out of more then £1.25m sentenced in Bristol
Fraud involved upfront payments and incomplete work over two years
Last updated 22nd Dec 2025
A builder known to customers as Marc Cole has been sentenced to 14 years in prison at Bristol Crown Court after being found guilty of defrauding clients out of more than £1.25 million over two years.
Mark Killick, 56, from Paulton, was convicted by a jury of 37 charges of fraud by false representation following a trial in October.
Killick’s fraudulent activities spanned from 2019 to 2021 and involved taking dishonestly obtained payments for building projects that were left unfinished or never started.
His actions came to light following a joint investigation by Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council’s Trading Standards team after receiving more than 100 complaints about his work.
Prosecutors explained during Killick’s 14-week trial that his actions were akin to a ‘ponzi scheme.’
He would request large upfront payments from customers, claiming these funds were needed urgently to cover bills for materials or orders.
However, instead of using these payments as promised, he used some for personal expenses, including gambling and travel, or to fund work for previous customers.
Many of his victims were left in vulnerable situations as their homes became building sites, with work halted for weeks or even months.
DS Sinclair, from Avon & Somerset Police, said: “Lots of companies took a big financial hit because of the Covid-19 restrictions. Lockdowns and self-isolation meant it was a really difficult environment for businesses and the struggles Killick faced were replicated across the country.
“Had he explained to customers Covid-19 was impacting on the when the work could be started, I’ve no doubt most, if not all, would have understood that.
“But that’s not what he chose to do, because he wanted their money.
“He chose to lie time and time again, putting pressure on customers to hand over large sums of cash to secure orders for them, when he knew the money they were giving was not going to be used for their work at all.
“Killick was paying himself a commission for every job secured, and therefore some of the cash customers were handing over expecting to be paying for their construction projects and orders, was instead going to his personal account and being used on hotel stays and gambling.
“The perilous financial situation was such that Killick was using a pawnbrokers for cashflow, unbeknown to his victims, and he was continuing to ask for payments a few days before liquidating TD Cole Ltd.
“Killick’s claim he would have completed the work through a new company does not bear up to scrutiny when you consider the lies he had already spun to customers and the fact the money he’d been paid for those jobs had already been spent. He did not have the funds to do that.”
Martyn Nicklin, Trading Standards Investigator at Bristol City Council, said: “We work very closely with our partners in the police to ensure that offenders are brought to justice and share best practice and intelligence to ensure we are monitoring and targeting offenders and bringing them to justice.
“This prosecution sends a strong signal to other rogue builders that they will face serious consequences should they follow a similar path.”