Rogue builder who conned homeowners across South Yorkshire, Notts and Derbyshire jailed
The 52 year old will serve a 32 month sentence
A rogue builder from Lincolnshire has been jailed for 32 months, after leaving customers across Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and South Yorkshire severely out of pocket.
54 year old Sean Patrick Gartland was sentenced at Derby Crown Court for two counts of fraudulent trading and one count of carrying on business for fraudulent purposes.
His schemes, investigated by Derbyshire County Council's Trading Standards, resulted in over £136,000 in losses due to incomplete or poorly executed work.
Gartland operated under multiple business names from June 2019 until November 2024, during which time he made promises to customers that went unfulfilled, demanding escalating sums for unfinished projects.
Evidence presented in court included dangerous structural alterations, such as removing supporting walls without proper reinforcement, and poorly installed conservatories and staircases.
Councillor Dan Price of Derbyshire County Council stated: “Protecting residents from rogue traders is one of our top priorities and we welcome the sentence handed down to Gartland by the court. We hope it sends out a strong and clear message to others that this type of offending will not be tolerated.
“Our trading standards officers have worked tirelessly to bring Gartland to justice for his crimes that have left his victims thousands of pounds out-of-pocket, caused huge emotional distress and in some cases left them living in unsafe homes.”
He was also disqualified from being a company director for seven years.