A cowboy builder who scammed a homeowner out of £22,000 to replace a roof that then started leaking has been jailed.

Darren Conroy, 45, of Brideale Close, Southwark, was described as “thoroughly dishonest” by the judge, after taking cash for the shoddy and unnecessary work to a home in Islington.

The scam began in December 2020, when two men who called themselves James and Richard convinced an Islington homeowner that her roof needed replacing.

Claiming to be from London Top Roofing Ltd, they quoted £43,000 for the work and demanded a deposit of £22,000.

This deposit was then paid into the personal account of Conroy, who James and Richard called “the big boss”.

Work to replace the roof was due to start the next day, but the two men never showed up.

Instead, another roofing company were sub-contracted to carry out the work.

A payment of £3,500 was made to them from Conroy’s account, but they also charged the homeowner £3,655 for building materials and labour.

At the same time, the victim of the scam was receiving a barrage of messages from James, demanding the “remaining” £21,000.

It was at this point that Islington Council’s trading standards team were contacted.

During their investigation, officers discovered that London Top Roofing did not exist as a limited company and that their website was a fake front.

An expert surveyor was drafted in to assess the work, finding it was “unnecessary and substandard” and that its real value was no more than £2,250.

This was confirmed when the roof started leaking six weeks after it was replaced.

Islington Council was able to successfully prosecute Conroy by showing the victim had paid money directly into his bank account, and proving that he either knew or had reason to believe that the money was from fraud.

Conroy was sentenced to two concurrent 16-month jail terms at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday (February 21) after admitting money laundering and converting criminal property.

Cllr John Woolf, Islington’s executive member for community safety, said: "It’s very distressing that one of our residents was targeted by criminals in their own home, where they should feel safe.”

He added: “We have zero tolerance for fraud in Islington and will take similar tough action against anyone attempting to exploit our residents.” 

The two men calling themselves James and Richard have never been identified.