All 10 of the victims were senior citizens, aged up to 92 at the time of the visits to them
An “incompetent” windows company boss has been jailed for four years after using high-pressure sales patter to persuade 10 trusting elderly customers to pay for work that was never completed. Business boss Jonathon O’Grady has been branded an “idiot” after he tried to “trade himself out of a trough” in his cash flow by taking deposits for new work.
The victims had been left “out of pocket” by a total of nearly £40,000 between them because of his desperate actions, Hull Crown Court heard. O’Grady, 39, of Blackburn Avenue, Bridlington, but recently in custody on remand, denied 10 offences of fraud against customers but he was convicted by a jury in October after a trial.
Oliver Shipley, prosecuting, said that O’Grady owned a business called Grade A Home Improvements, with an address on the Promenade, Bridlington. It dealt in window installations, glazing, repairs, conservatories and uPVC doors.
O’Grady took money for work that was never completed. All 10 of the victims were senior citizens, aged up to 92 at the time of the visits to them. In some cases, O’Grady went “over and above” in his initial visits and quoted for work that was not wanted and persuaded them to have it done.
“The defendant would not leave until a deposit, often 50 per cent, had been paid there and then,” said Mr Shipley. “This was in order to secure some discount.” In some cases, he would even drive the customer to a bank to withdraw money.
O’Grady was a “one-man-band” and he did everything, apart from the two most important parts, making the windows and fitting them. “These tasks were outsourced to other companies, other professionals,” said Mr Shipley.
“The defendant spent his time going out and finding customers. Other companies would come and fit them and he would pay them a fee for doing so.” None of the work quoted for the 10 customers was ever completed. “He says that he fully intended to do the work that he quoted for,” said Mr Shipley. “The prosecution say that he was plainly dishonest. This money was used to pay off debt.
“These are all acts of desperation or greed to fill a void and a desire for money. He told police that he would use the next customer’s money to pay for the previous customer’s parts. He was robbing Peter to pay Paul.”
When customers tried to contact O’Grady, he was “almost never reachable” and instead a man called Paul – “with a Scouse accent” – would answer the telephone. “Paul has never been identified,” said Mr Shipley.
“The deposits were clearly not enough to fund the work that the defendant had committed himself to. In some cases, he went back for more money.”
Nearly £40,000 was received from the 10 victims. They contacted the police and O’Grady was arrested on October 25, 2023. “His shop was searched and a number of items were seized by the police,” said Mr Shipley.
O’Grady told the police that he was in debt and that his business was failing. He continued to take on new customers to pay off his debt. He admitted that he had no real cash to start the business in the first place,” said Mr Shipley.
“His next customer’s deposits were used to pay for previous customers’ materials. The defendant denies that he was dishonest. He says that he fully intended to fulfil customer orders.
“He accepts his financial management was lacking.” O’Grady had been on bail during the trial but he was remanded in custody in October after being convicted by the jury.
‘Being an idiot, as he will readily accept, is part of his lack of foresight’
Neil Fitzgibbon, mitigating, told a sentencing hearing that O’Grady had suffered money problems and his suppliers “wanted him to pay up front and he could not afford it”. He was trying to fulfil the orders that he had taken from customers.
“There was no realistic prospect of him being able to trade himself out a trough,” said Mr Fitzgibbon. “Being an idiot, as he will readily accept, is part of his lack of foresight.
“At any stage that he pulled the plug, those that he had taken deposits from would not have had their work done. This was a genuine business, with the intention of it being a proper business.
“He had always been involved in the sale of windows and he thought that he could make a success of it. It was not a case of doing sub-standard work.
“He was unable, through his own incompetence, to fulfil what he had taken on. We accept that there were a large number of victims. We don’t accept that it was a deliberate targeting.
“He has written a letter, which appears to be genuine. He has reflected on what he did since he has been in prison. The victims are clearly all out of pocket and he accepts that this has had an effect on them.
“It appears that he is somewhat remorseful. Getting involved in sales is something that he is not cut out for.”
In December 2024, O’Grady was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, with 220 hours’ unpaid work, after being convicted at Leeds Crown Court of two offences of fraudulent trading. He was banned from being a company director for six years.
‘Dot Cotton scam’
He was part of a group of rogue builders who used a TV advertisement featuring the EastEnders character Dot Cotton to swindle £1m from people seeking energy savings under a Government scheme. He and three other men offered services across Yorkshire and Derbyshire but left vulnerable residents in structurally unsafe properties because of their shoddy workmanship.
They operated under various names and installed substandard, undersized and damaged windows in people’s homes. Advertisements featured June Brown, who played Dot Cotton, and boxer Floyd Mayweather but neither of them had any knowledge of the crimes.
The fraudulent companies, which took advantage of a Government “Green Deal” initiative, cold-called customers and carried out poor quality work that resulted in damage to homeowners’ walls and left large gaps.
Two other gang members, from Bradford, were jailed for six years and four months and for two-and-a-half years, to run consecutively to a sentence of seven years and 11 months he was already serving. A third man, from Bradford, was given 100 hours’ unpaid work.