Conman Drains £500k from Elderly, Ordered to Repay £7k

Joseph Oliver, a 34-year-old from Lytham St Annes, orchestrated a £500,000 scam targeting 39 elderly homeowners aged 53 to 93. Trading as LJ Property Solutions Ltd and Windowseal Ltd, he convinced victims to pay for unnecessary repairs, often leaving homes in worse condition. Judge Timothy Petts remarked, Oliver 'rinsed his elderly and vulnerable victims for as much as possible' with 'appalling dishonesty and exploitation.'
Despite the vast sum stolen, Oliver has been ordered to repay just £7,612, to be divided among three victims who suffered the largest losses. This paltry restitution highlights the challenges in recovering funds from fraudulent schemes. As one victim lamented, 'Not all monies were able to be recovered, meaning not all victims are able to be compensated.'
In a surreal twist, Oliver's shoddy repairs included using duct tape to fix roofs, leaving homeowners with 'improvements' that defied both logic and gravity.