Salesmen jailed for mobility aid scam on elderly

Darren Sharpe and Christopher Simpson worked under the company name of Ideal Mobility Solutions, selling mobility aids to the elderly and infirm.

Sharpe, 44, of Mansfield, was yesterday sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court to five years imprisonment after admitting fraud offences across South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. He was also convicted of operating a fraudulent business and fraudulent trading.

Simpson, 47, of West Bridgford, Nottingham, also admitted participating in a fraudulent business and fraudulent trading and was jailed for 18 months.

The two mainly mis-sold ordinary mattress covers they claimed had health benefits for ailments such as bad backs and stiff joints. They were sold for as much as £300 each when they were only worth about £30.

Mobility scooters and stairlifts were also sold at inflated prices or were not delivered.

A total of 35 victims made statements as part of the lengthy investigation. Most were elderly, vulnerable or disabled and the amount of money taken ranged from £200 to £5,000.

Among them were George Withnall, 81, and his wife Patricia, 78, from Long Eaton, near Nottingham, who bought a bed from Sharpe in March 2011 at a cost of £1,545 but it was not as ordered and was very uncomfortable. They complained but got neither a refund nor their old bed back.

Mr Withnall has arthritis and has two crushed vertebrae and his wife suffers from Parkinson’s disease, thyroid and heart problems.

He said: “The salesman had the gift of the gab and was very forceful. He made out of the bed would help cure my back problems.

“The money we spent on the bed was a large part of our savings and as pensioners we could have done a lot with this money.

“It felt like the earth fell beneath us when we realised we were not going to be getting our money back.

“We’ve learnt a hard lesson with this experience and we would never be taken in by a cold caller again.”

The East Midlands Scambusters Team – a regional unit that deals with large cases of fraud, high pressure selling and deceptive practices – worked alongside police and trading standards’ officers following dozens of complaints.

Detective Constable David Porter, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “Sharpe preyed on vulnerable victims, using the M1 corridor as his main thoroughfare to travel to South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire, where he committed the offences.

“Sharpe was a manipulative man who befriended elderly people, often spending hours in their homes gaining their trust. He had one goal in mind, to defraud them of their savings and benefits.”

Councillor Mick Murphy, chairman of Nottinghamshire County Council’s community safety committee, said the two had “ruthlessly preyed” on vulnerable people through the scam with no concern about the impact of the crimes on victims.

“They used high-pressured sales techniques to sell products at extortionate rates which were not the miracle items they were claimed to be or were never delivered,” he said.

“Their scam has also been very emotionally distressing for the victims involved, many of whom are disabled or elderly.

“We encourage anyone who is approached by a telephone or doorstep salesperson to say no to avoid being a target of a scam.”