A rogue trader who conned more than £355,000 from homeowners in Cornwall has been sentenced to six years in prison following a prosecution bought by Cornwall Council’s Trading Standards team. 

Sean David McCann, 48, of Pendoggett, St Kew, appeared at Plymouth Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday, January 18. 

Following an extensive investigation by Cornwall Council Trading Standards, McCann entered guilty pleas to five charges at an earlier hearing. 

These included participated in a business for a fraudulent purpose, obtaining credit when a bankrupt, and failing to disclose information that he had a legal duty to disclose, for a fraudulent purpose, contrary to the Fraud Act. 

McCann was sentenced to six years in prison for the fraudulent trading offences. He was also given three years for not disclosing he was a bankrupt and 16 months for two regulatory insolvency offences to be served concurrently. He received a 20 per cent discount from his sentence for his guilty plea. 

The court heard how McCann took on many jobs where work was started, but never finished. He took money for materials that he never purchased and agreed to far more jobs than he had the capacity or skill to complete. 

This was a repeat of similar behaviour he had undertaken when living in the Midlands through working as a bathroom fitter. 

He had already been subject to a bankruptcy restriction order due to his history. 

Following a number of complaints in Cornwall, the fair trading Team began an investigation, through which more victims came to light, with a total of 13 victims in all, with losses assessed to be in the region of £355,000. 

Several of the victims attended court today and were given an opportunity to read their victim impact statements. 

Councillor Martyn Alvey, the Cornwall Council cabinet member with responsibility for Trading Standards, said: “This is a fantastic result and testament to the hard work, tenacity and professionalism of the fair trading team who led the investigation. 

“Sadly, this is yet another example of fraudulent behaviour that has caused significant loss and devastation to a large number of local families. 

“I hope today’s sentence will send a strong message to those who are tempted to exploit their customers in this way.”