TWO men have been convicted for conning multiple victims out of £100,000 through unfinished building work.
Steven Fidler, 39 from Hockley Heath and Kristien Hunt, 47 from Studley were both recently convicted at Warwick Crown Court.
Between November 2019 and December 2021, 11 reports were made across the Midlands from customers who had been quoted for building or decorating work by Fidler and Hunt.
In each case, large downpayments had been made by the victims, for work which was then either not completed or finished to an unsatisfactory standard.
When the victims tried to complain, the defendants disappeared.
Evidence showed that Hunt and Fidler took on several projects at a time, later giving excuses about why they were unable to work – such as the Covid lockdown, vehicle breakdowns or the (false) death of a family member, while still actively seeking and starting new work.
Steven Fidler was also convicted separately for ‘romance fraud’ after swindling a woman out of nearly £30,000.
In January 2021, he started messaging the woman on a dating app, giving himself a false name and background, including that his wife and daughter had died.
After meeting a few times, the victim agreed to lend him money to re-pay loans, after which Fidler disappeared and ceased communication.
Fidler was arrested on April 1 this year, and was subsequently convicted for conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and fraud by false representation for the romance fraud.
He was sentenced on Monday October 13 to six years’ imprisonment.
Hunt was arrested in December 2021 and charged in April 2023. He also pleaded guilty and was later convicted for conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.
He will appear at the same court on November 12 for sentencing.
Det Con Alison Roberts – Specialist Fraud Investigator for Warwickshire Police, said: “Both men conned their victims out of tens of thousands pounds, and in many cases left their houses in serious states of disrepair.
“Thankfully, both have now been convicted and admitted their wrongdoings.
“We are continuing to try and locate Hunt to ensure he also faces justice for his actions. We ask anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 101.”
