A pair of cowboy builders who conned customers out of more than £1.3million after turning their homes into building sites have been jailed. 

Samuel O'Hanlon, 45, led the scam operation alongside his 28-year-old accomplice Jack Sargeant, demanding huge amounts of money from customers before work was complete, repeatedly identifying new problems in homes and squeezing home owners for even more cash. 

Jobs were often left unfinished, and homes turned into building sites with lives left 'ruined'.

The pair were convicted of several counts of fraud and of laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds following an eight-week trial at Inner London Crown Court in March.

On Wednesday, O'Hanlon, of Folkestone, was jailed for 10 years, while Sargeant was sentenced to five years and nine months behind bars. 

Passing sentence, Judge David Richards said: 'You caused misery, heartbreak, poverty and grief on a large scale.'

Several victims of the builders have since spoken of their anger at the occurrence, saying warning signs were missed and authorities repeatedly brushed off their concerns while O'Hanlon continued operating. 

They said the system continually failed to protect them, and they were left feeling 'stupid', 'fobbed off', and 'totally humiliated.'

Victim Elizabeth Hennessey, 83, said the damage went beyond finances - claiming O'Hanlon destroyed the final years of her husband Paul's life. 

Mrs Hennessey, from Ashford, hired O'Hanlon to construct a kitchen extension with a wet room so her late husband - who was in poor health - could remain in the home and garden he had loved for 40 years.

Instead, the couple said they were forced from their home for more than one year after O'Hanlon failed to complete the building work he started in October 2020. 

As time went on, he repeatedly identified further issues in the property, worked sporadically and did not finish the work he had been paid to do. 

Ultimately, Mr and Mrs Hennessey paid almost £150,000 for the work - more than double the original £60,000 quote. 

In January 2022, Mr Hennessey passed away - without ever returning home or seeing justice served. 

Mrs Hennessey, who spoke from her home in Headcorn, said:  'We wanted this work done because my husband had said loud and clear: 'I just want to stay in my house and garden'.' 

'But he died, and he never got back here. I'm certainly not saying O'Hanlon caused his death. But, as my daughter said, 'He ruined the last two years of Dad's life.'

'That can never be righted, and it cannot be forgiven either.'

Mrs Hennessey expressed disappointment at the response of Kent Police in dealing with O'Hanlon. 

After speaking to a fraud officer, she said she was left feeling 'totally humiliated'.

She said: 'He talked to me as if I was a foolish old woman being really rather trying, who had a not very good experience with a not very good builder, and it was all a bit of a storm in a teacup.

'I feel the system is failing for not having the necessary checks and balances all the way through it to ensure it doesn't happen. But when people do complain, there is an inability to empathise.

'I was made to feel stupid, I was dismissed, I was simply not heard until the point we got to one particular policeman, DC Brown, who finally said: 'I believe you. I'm going to do something about this.'

Mrs Hennessey praised Trading Standards for its 'thoroughness' when it later took up the case, but added of O'Hanlon: 'He should have been stopped sooner.' 

But the warning signs about O'Hanlon date from over a decade ago. 

In 2015, Robert Davies, 82, hired O'Hanlon to repair his conservatory roof.

However, Mr Davies, from Lewes in East Sussex, said the work was never completed and after paying almost £90,000 he dismissed O'Hanlon later that year.   

He said O'Hanlon should have been stopped long before more lives were damaged.

He said: 'I should have got rid of him a lot earlier, but you hope against hope it will be done. Then it was a question of getting rid of him and getting the work done.'

Mr Davies said he contacted the authorities, however, they repeatedly failed to act. 

He said: 'I contacted East Sussex Police, and they said it was not a criminal matter and it was a civil matter.

'East Sussex said it wasn't in their area because he was based in Folkestone. I contacted Kent, and they refused to follow up on it, which was very disappointing. 

'I contacted Kent, and they refused to follow up on it, which was very disappointing. 

'They tried to say that because the work was done in East Sussex, they couldn't pursue it.

'It seemed a very unsatisfactory excuse, but I couldn't pursue it any further.'

Although Mr Davies provided what he says was clear evidence, he was continually ignored. 

He said: 'I had a structural surveyor's report done highlighting all the inadequacies he had done and it was not taken into account,' he added.

'I was fobbed off. I contacted Trading Standards in 2015, and they were not helpful.

'They should have been onto this case a great deal earlier. He should have been stopped years ago.'

In January 2021, O'Hanlon was arrested and interviewed by Kent Police in Maidstone  for an alleged fraud offence against a man - while he was carrying out work for Mrs Hennessey. 

An investigation took place, but the case reportedly did not meet the evidential test for criminal prosecution. It was subsequently filed in June 2021 pending any further evidence appearing. 

The Inner London Crown Court heard how Trading Standards provided advice - called 'written warnings' - by the judge to O'Hanlon in 2014 and 2015. 

However, in the following years, O'Hanlon managed to swindle £1.3million from 12 victims using three separate businesses. 

Between June 18, 2018 and February 18, 2019, he defrauded three customers by collecting more than £213,000 for building works. 

He conned three more customers from September 11, 2020, to May 26, 2021, using Advanced Contractors South East Ltd. He was paid more than £185,000.

And from August 17, 2021, to January 7, 2026, O'Hanlon and Sargeant defrauded six further customers through the business Precision Contractors South East Ltd of more than £972,000. 

O'Hanlon, of St John's Street, Folkestone, was also found guilty of two counts of laundering money - one between January 10, 2019, and October 14, 2019, of £311,500 and another between July 3, 2018, and April 1, 2022, of £382,762.

Sargeant, of Weavers Way, Ashford, was found guilty of laundering money totaling £370,559.25 between August 27, 2021, and January 7, 2026.

The pair's offending - including fraud and money laundering - exceeded a combined value of £2.4million.  

During sentencing, Judge Richards said although O'Hanlon was the ringleader, Sargeant was 'very much the apprentice who aspired to and was almost an equal'.

O'Hanlon was banned from serving as a company director for 12 years and Sargeant was disqualified for a decade.

They both must serve at least 40 per cent of their jail sentences before becoming eligible for release on licence.

Kent Police have since issued an apology to Mrs Hennessey over how its fraud team dealt with the issue. 

Detective Chief Inspector Helen Smithers said: 'Kent Police takes all reports of fraud seriously and will always work closely with victims to investigate thoroughly.

'Rogue traders are often well-practised and convincing in their scams, and anyone can become a victim of these sophisticated schemes.

'Officers in this case worked with Mrs Hennessey in 2021 and kept her up to date on their investigation before it was transferred over to Trading Standards to progress.

'While it is pleasing to hear Mrs Hennessey was happy with the service provided by the original investigating officer from Kent Police, we apologise if she was upset by the way others spoke to her and hope the outcome of the investigation into the rogue traders responsible brings her some level of comfort.'

And addressing Mr Davies reporting O'Hanlon years ago and no action being taken, Clive Philips - Kent Trading Standards' complex investigations manager - said his team 'tackle persistent, serious offenders operating in the county' and ensure they are brought to justice.

He said: 'I'd like to praise the courage and resilience of all the victims who came forward, supported the investigation, and gave evidence during the trial.

'No one should feel ashamed of falling victim to fraudsters. All complaints are taken seriously and all complainants are given advice on their statutory rights so they can take their own civil proceedings for breach of contract.

'Alleged offending that is committed outside of Kent should be reported to the relevant local authority for them to consider the most appropriate and proportionate action.'

East Sussex County Council said it could not comment on the initial contact of Mr Davies in 2015 as it retains Trading Standards records for seven years, and therefore no longer has access to the records in this case. 

A spokesperson said: 'We would like to reassure residents that we take reports of rogue traders extremely seriously and have successfully prosecuted many operating in East Sussex and surrounding counties.

'While ownership of Trading Standards cases is decided on a case-by-case basis, if a local authority is already investigating offences, they will often take into consideration victims beyond their boundary as we have done on many occasions.'

Sussex Police added: 'We can confirm that in November 2015, we received a report from a person dissatisfied with building work carried out at their property in Lewes.

'Officers engaged with the informant and, following assessment, it was deemed to be a civil matter.'