Cowboy trader scammed woman who was grieving for her husband

“He has taken my money, and he took away my dignity, but most of all, he took my time which I should have been grieving my husband,” the victim told the court.

Ryan Brookes, of Filmer Road in Windsor, committed the offences in Widnes and Warrington while he was working as a self-employed landscape gardener using the trading name ‘LandscapeDr’.

The 36-year-old Berkshire man appeared before Liverpool Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to four trading offences.

Prosecuting, Anam Khan said there were two complainants – a couple and the woman who had just lost her husband.

She said the first offence relates to a lack of ‘professional diligence’ in Brookes’ dealing with the woman.

In particular, Ms Khan said that the defendant failed to carry out and complete contracted work, that he failed to use the money to purchase supplies required to carry out the work, and that he retained the deposit and the first stage payment amounting to £4,060 – a sum ‘incommensurate’ with the work carried out.

Ms Khan told Liverpool Crown Court that following the death of the victim’s husband, she wanted work done to her garden so that it could be a place for her to relax and a place for her dog to play.

The victim found Brookes’ company on Facebook and contacted him for a quote.

The pair agreed a start date and the woman sent the deposit to Brookes’ mum’s bank account as he said he was having issues with his own.

But prior to the start date, which was last May, Brookes asked if it could be brought forward.

The victim said no, but he asked again and she agreed to move it slightly earlier.

On the new start date, Brookes turned up in a white van with another man, driving into the street like a 'mad man', and the victim paid him 40 per cent of the total cost - £3,240. Afterwards, he claimed he could not gain access to this money.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that all the men did this day was ‘pick up old slabs and throw them in the corner’ before leaving for the day in the early afternoon.

Brookes’ did then not turn up the next day or for the rest of the week.

He then ‘persistently’ asked the victim, to pay a further £1,000 for building supplies out of their agreed payment plan and said that this was necessary in order for the works to be completed.

She declined to pay this, but he then turned up at her home trying to persuade her in an ‘aggressive manner’.

The victim told Brookes, who now lives in Windsor, how he left her garden in an unusable state, but she said he ‘showed no care for the situation which he created’.

After being unable to contact him and him not returning, the woman had to pay another company over £10,000 to complete the job on her garden.

She read out a victim impact statement at Liverpool Crown Court in which she said at the time of the offence, she was vulnerable and that grief had ‘clouded her judgement’.

“I had an empty, pitiful pit in the bottom of my stomach when I realised he had scammed me,” she said.

“The shame was so bad for me I could not share it with my close family and I went into a state of depression.”

The victim said how she has always been a strong and confident woman, but Brookes has left her feeling ‘old, foolish, ashamed and pathetic’.

“He has taken my money, and he took away my dignity, but most of all, he took my time which I should have been grieving my husband,” the victim told the court.”

Turning to Brookes who was sat in the dock, the victim said: “You have ruined my life.”

Ms Khan said the next offences were committed against a couple who required decking removing, a paving area, and artificial grass.

She said that Brookes failed to carry out and complete contracted work, failed to use any three payments made to the total of £5,040 to purchase supplies required to carry out the work, carried out the excavation works to a poor standard, and retained the money – a sum ‘incommensurate’ with the work carried out.

The court heard how Brookes ‘made a mess’ with the excavation works.

It was also told how he made various excuses for not turning up and being unable to do the job – including he had been mugged and had lost his van.

Work still hadn’t started for 10 days, and when Brookes did eventually send another man to do the job, he just ‘moved ruined decking from one part of the garden to the other’.

The couple had to hire another company to complete the work.

Ms Khan said that  Brookes has previous convictions – including a similar offence of fraud while working as a landscape gardener.

Defending, Nathan Goldstein said how his client now has a new landscaping job in Windsor and that he is a ‘hardworking man’.

He said his client is ‘genuinely sorry’.

“At the time of the offences occurred, the defendant was having a difficult time in his life with his addictions which he has since addressed,” Mr Goldsten said.

“He had been running a business for three years and had been running it well, but unfortunately his life choices and problems deteriorated to the extent that he committed these offences.”

'If you breach this order, you go straight to prison'

Before passing sentence, Judge Anil Murray said: “I would happily send you straight to prison if I was unfettered, but I am not.”

Judge Murray said that due to Brookes completed his previous court order and being deemed as having a ‘good prospect of rehabilitation’, he had to suspend the prison sentence.

He added: “You will not be surprised to hear that I will remember you.

“If you breach this order, you will be going straight to prison.

“You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself.”

Mr Brookes received a total imprisonment of 10 months suspended for 2 years.

He must also pay £5,094 in compensation to the couple and £360 to the woman who was able to receive some of the money back through her bank.