A ROGUE trader from Newquay who left customers more than £135,000 out of pocket has been sentenced following a successful prosecution by Cornwall Council’s Trading Standards team.

James Edwin O’Dell, aged 39, was given a two-year suspended sentence at Truro Crown Court on Friday, September 27.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and was given a three month curfew between 7pm and 7am.

O’Dell had entered guilty pleas at an earlier hearing to two counts of fraud, under Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.

The offences, dated between April 2021 and December 2022, relate to O’Dell’s dishonest practices in regard to building and home improvement works that he was hired to carry out at seven different properties.

O’Dell took monies for materials which were never purchased. He also misled customers over the need to pay VAT when he was not VAT registered. He took large deposits for work that was not started in some cases. In others, the work was of a poor standard or incomplete.

Unfinished works carried out by O’Dell (Picture: Cornwall Council) ( )

His actions led to a combined loss of £135,000 for his customers and a local business. The real impact was much higher due to the crippling remedial costs of putting the substandard work right, combined with the emotional strain for those that had their family homes left in an inhabitable state.

Martyn Alvey, the portfolio holder responsible for Enforcement and Public Protection at Cornwall Council, said: “This is yet another example of the devastation caused due to the reckless and selfish actions of a supposed builder.

“These families put their faith in O’Dell with the hope of improving their homes, only to be left out of pocket and having to work day and night to put things right.

“Thanks to the hard work and support of our Trading Standards team, many of the customers have now managed to get refunded through their banks’ fraud protection schemes.”