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  "path": "/news/manchester-news-fraudster-rogue-trader-swindled-10k-victims-worthless-work",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-02T09:07:30.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "Six teenagers now arrested after mob of unruly London youths run riot",
    "Terrorist who plotted to blow up army base faces new hearing after Patrick Christys intervened",
    "BBC confirms what the 'new information' is that led to Scott Mills' axe after presenter speaks out",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nA Manchester fraudster who swindled homeowners out of more than £10,000 through sham roofing and landscaping services has received a suspended prison sentence.\n\nJohn Collins, residing on Heather Street in Manchester, targeted victims at four properties in Chorley and Greater Manchester between August 2024 and April 2025.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nLancashire County Council's Trading Standards team uncovered that Collins either abandoned jobs entirely or delivered work that was incomplete, substandard or misrepresented.\n\nPreston Crown Court handed him an 18-month suspended sentence on March 24 after he admitted to four counts of fraudulent trading under the Fraud Act 2006.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe investigation revealed that every victim ended up worse off financially, facing additional costs to complete or rectify the botched work Collins had been paid to carry out.\n\nCollins operated under an elaborate web of deception, adopting multiple false identities to evade detection.\n\nHe presented himself to potential customers as Chris Taylor, Ryan Taylor and John Wilkinson, while trading under fictitious company names including Ideal Landscapers, New Age Roofing Specialists and Greenacre Landscape Services.\n\nThe court heard how he sourced his victims through online platforms where homeowners seek tradespeople for domestic projects.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nWebsites such as Bark.com and My Builder provided Collins with a steady stream of unsuspecting customers searching for legitimate contractors to handle landscaping and roofing work.\n\nHis scheme relied on collecting upfront payments before vanishing once the money was secured.\n\nIn several instances, a small quantity of materials would be delivered to maintain the pretence of legitimate work, before Collins disappeared entirely.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * Six teenagers now arrested after mob of unruly London youths run riot\n  * Terrorist who plotted to blow up army base faces new hearing after Patrick Christys intervened\n  * BBC confirms what the 'new information' is that led to Scott Mills' axe after presenter speaks out\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nOne case highlighted the extent of Collins's fraudulent practices particularly starkly.\n\nA Chorley homeowner hired him to repair a leaking roof, paying £1,400 for work that took fewer than four hours to complete.\n\nWhen Trading Standards commissioned a consulting surveyor to assess the job, the expert's verdict was damning.\n\nThe surveyor concluded that \"every element of the roofing work was either not attempted or incompetently performed\" and that the work was \"entirely worthless\".\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nCollins employed a consistent pattern across his landscaping scams, collecting money for materials shortly before or after beginning preliminary clearing work.\n\nOnce he had secured initial payments, and sometimes additional funds, he simply failed to return.\n\nThe total sum Collins obtained for minimal or abandoned work amounted to approximately £10,600.\n\nCollins now faces a three-year Criminal Behaviour Order that prohibits him from offering or undertaking any work at residential properties until after March 23 2029.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nPaul Noone, Head of Trading Standards at Lancashire County Council, said: \"Our Trading Standards team works tirelessly to bring rogue traders to justice.\n\n\"By scamming honest, hard-working residents out of thousands of pounds, they cause stress and financial burdens to their victims and families.\n\n\"This prosecution and the Criminal Behaviour Order sends a clear signal that we won't tolerate rogue traders in Lancashire, and we'll do everything we can to bring them to justice\".\n\nNoone confirmed that Collins is now barred from continuing his fraudulent activities thanks to the efforts of council officers.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Fraudster rogue trader swindled £10k out of victims for 'entirely worthless' work"
}