AN ABERYSTWYTH builder said to have an appalling record for conning householders out of money has been jailed again after charging an 84-year-old Penrhyncoch woman with dementia £40,000 for work that was worth no more than £7,000.

It was the fifth time Peter Jason Gilmore, 43, he had been convicted of charging for work he had not carried and the fourth time his victim had been elderly.

Gilmore, of 26 Cambrian Street, admitted fraud and was jailed for three years.

Mark Lea, 23, of 32 Cestrian Street, Connahs Quay, admitted money laundering by cashing two of the cheques into his bank account before handing most of the money to Gilmore. He was jailed for 20 weeks, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Robin Rouch, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court how Gilmore had persuaded the pensioner to have building work carried out on her home in Penrhyncoch.

Mr Rouch said the pensioner had problems with her memory and had since been diagnosed as having dementia.

A neighbour, Paul Beech, became concerned about the number of times he saw Gilmore at the house and was alarmed to receive a phone call from the victim telling him, “the thieves are back”.

He called the police, who arrived to find Lea doing some weeding. While they were there Gilmore arrived, claiming the pensioner owed him even more money.

Mr Rouch said police discovered that the pensioner had paid Gilmore £23,450 between January and September 2014. In addition, Lea had cashed a cheque for £3,750, and given £3,500 to Gilmore, and then one for £12,900, of which £12,500 was handed to Gilmore.

Mr Rouch said it was accepted that some work had been carried out on the house, but a surveyor with Ceredigion council thought it was worth a maximum of £7,000, reducing the overall fraud from £40,000 to £33,000.

The court heard that Gilmore had previous convictions for 91 offences.

His barrister, James Hartson, said he had spent the money on heroin.

Tom Scapens, representing Lea, said he had been suspicious about the cheques he had been asked to cash and was ashamed to be told they had come from the pensioner.

Mr Rouch told the court that a Proceeds of Crime investigation had failed to identify any assets belonging to Gilmore, who was ordered to pay a nominal £1.

He said due to the victim’s memory issues, she was still unaware of how much money she had lost.

Judge Paul Thomas told Gilmore, “There are few more despicable types of fraud. You took advantage of her age and infirmity. Crimes like this are all too common but still appalling. You took as much money from her as you could, hoping she would not realise what you were doing.”

He said Gilmore’s “appalling record for preying on elderly people” was a major aggravating feature.