Rogue builder who charged £100k for kitchen refurbs and ripped out homes before fleeing to go on hols is jailed

The Irish Sun

19 hours ago

A ROGUE builder who charged £100,000 for refurbishments and ripped out homes before fleeing on holiday has been locked up.
Jamie Brown ripped off 19 families and fled with their money after wrecking their houses in the spring and summer of 2023.
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James Brown and wife Nina Brown arriving at Bristol Crown Court
Credit: Paul Gillis/BristolLive
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Victims of rogue kitchen fitter James Brown at Bristol Crown Court
Credit: Paul Gillis/BristolLive
The 56-year-old even ripped out the kitchen of a couple who were weeks away from having a baby and ran away without refitting it.
Brown, who lived in Bristol, boasted about having over 25 years of experience carrying out "quality, fully guaranteed kitchen installations in and around the South West and Wales".
The dad went on holidays and his wife posted glam pics of their adventures after he left the lives of other families in tatters.
Brown was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court for 19 counts of theft.
Charges were also brought against his wife Nina, who was listed as a company director at the time, but the case against her was formally discontinued in court last week.
Brown was sentenced to 18 months in prison,
The court heard he "lied and lied consistently" in his schemes.
The cowboy builder would warn prospective customers that they needed to agree to the job and pay upfront swiftly, or prices would go up.
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Once they paid him and he ripped out their kitchen, he would disappear and provide a myriad of excuses.
He later claimed he had a "mental breakdown" and his company had gone into liquidation, telling the distraught families they would not be receiving any money back or any new kitchens.
The court heard that many had "wiped out" their savings and taken out massive loans to pay the dodgy builder - but were left with their kitchens in ruins.
One victim told the court how they discovered Brown was splashing out on holidays while their lives were in tatters.
They said: "What made it worse was that he continued to go on all these lovely holidays.
"His wife would post pictures of them going on holidays, one after another, all the time. I stopped looking because she blocked me on Facebook, but friends would send me screenshots.
"I was left thinking 'these are holidays we should be going on, not him'."
The court heard that victims were left without running water and without anyway of cooking.
"We didn't have running water, no way of cooking, no washing machine. We rigged up a temporary thing in the garage, but he left it and that went on for ten weeks, with different excuses.
"In the end I rang Howdens and they said they could deliver the kitchen, but it would have to be paid for. That's when I realised for sure what was going on, it was devastating."
There was some dispute in court about the total amount of money that he had stolen.
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The prosecution opened their case and put the amount at £101,602.91, but Brown's defence counsel David Sapiecha said the true figure was £84,817.
The court was told that the couple are in the process of selling their home and the proceeds would be used to pay back every penny to people who had lost money.
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A finished kitchen on Brown's company's Instagram page before his imprisonment
Credit: Instagram
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Brown's Instagram boasted of finished kitchens such as this one
Credit: Instagram