Salesman fleeced customers after falling thousands of pounds in debt

A salesman fleeced customers after falling thousands of pounds in debt.

Stuart Glenister took money for jobs and didn't complete them after finding himself robbing Peter to pay Paul, Nottingham Crown Court heard.

The 54-year-old was convicted of fraud by abuse of position and fraud by false representation in August 2019 after taking payments from customers but failing to deliver their ordered goods.

At the time he was handed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.

But he financial woes continued and the following month he found himself ripping off another victim.

He charged a customer £777 for flooring that he failed to deliver and refused to refund. And earlier in the same year, another customer, a pregnant mum expecting twins, was charged £1,200 for carpets that never arrived.

Glenister found himself back in court and was convicted of two further counts of fraud by false representation.

He received a six-month prison sentence, again suspended for two years, after the judge heard he had been facing bankruptcy at the time he re-offended and that he had since managed to get his business back on track.

He was also given a curfew between the hours of 8pm and 6.30am for three months.

The court heard Glenister, of Main Street, Gamston, was employed as a salesman when he committed the offences that led to him receiving a suspended sentence in 2019. He took deposits from customers but kept the money for himself, rather than pass it onto the company that employed him.

The offences relating to his latest court appearance were committed while he was running his own business.

One customer visited his store in September 2019 to order the same flooring he had purchased previously. Glenister told the customer the price had gone up because the product had been discontinued, a claim police later discovered was not true.

The retired man used a credit card to pay the requested £777 but the flooring never arrived. The customer eventually requested a refund but Glenister failed to comply, forcing the customer to go through his credit card company in order to get his money back.

Prosecutor Hal Ewing told the court the man endured an extreme amount of upset and distress as he battled to get his money back.

A few months earlier, in April 2019, Glenister caused similar stress and suffering for a married couple who had just moved house and were expecting twins.

The couple ordered £1,200 worth of carpets for their new home but Glenister repeatedly failed to turn up and ignored their demands for a refund. Again, the couple only got their money back after going through their credit card company.

Fergus Malone, mitigating, told the court Glenister had been struggling financially when he committed the crimes including an unpaid tax bill of approximately £20,000.

He said: “It wasn’t a fraud from the outset. The idea was the goods would be delivered but he had financial difficulties and cashflow issues. Ultimately, he accepts he was dishonest.”

Detective Constable Jason Jenkins, who led the investigation, said he hoped the case would deter other tradesmen from committing fraud.

He said: “Glenister may have been in financial difficulty but we will never consider that to be an acceptable excuse for committing fraud.

“This was not the first time he has taken money from customers and failed to deliver their goods and the effect it had on them was considerable. It was not just the cost of losing the money initially but also the emotional upset.

“I’m pleased that we’ve secured these latest convictions and hope it sends a message that Nottinghamshire Police will not hesitate to put fraudsters before the courts.”