Suspended sentence for fraudster who targeted vulnerable victims

Police have thanked the public for their help in bringing a doorstep fraudster to justice.

23-year-old Selby man, Samuel Pentland, received a six month suspended sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud in a hearing at York Crown Court on Wednesday, May 20th. He was also ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid word and repay the £195 he took for works he did not carry out.

At the same time, a restraining order was brought against Pentland preventing him from coming within 100 meters of his most vulnerable victim, or contacting them by any means, including through a third party. 

Pentland's crimes took place between July and August 2014 and involved three vulnerable victims, two males aged 75 and 49 and a 71 year-old woman with disabilities. All of his victims are from the Selby area.

He cold called them at their homes and offered to do some maintenance work for cash. He took the cash but did not carry out the maintenance work.

In August 2014 the police appealed for information about these incidents and about the man who was doorstep calling vulnerable people.

PC Nicola Gill said, “We had a fantastic response to this appeal from members of the public. I would like to thank everyone who got in touch and helped us with our enquiries which led to the arrest of Samuel Pentland.

“Pentland is a cruel and dishonest man who has been brought to justice, and the public of Selby helped us to do that.

“I would also like to take this opportunity to remind people to be vigilant against cold callers. You should always check the identity of anyone who calls at your door if you do not know them. Legitimate tradespeople will wear identification badges and will not ask for cash in advance of doing any work.

“Visit the North Yorkshire Police website http://www.northyorkshire.police.uk/boguscallers for more information and advice.”