A fake builder scammed 11 people out of more than £1 million and left families with wrecked homes to fund his gambling habit.
Richard Nicholls, 38, left his victims with unfinished extensions and carried out shoddy home improvement work before asking them to pick up the bill.
He has now been jailed for three years after the fraud left some victims without anywhere to live and having spent their life savings.
The estate agent and salesman had no experience in construction when he started taking on the building work.
One woman suffered panic attacks while heavily pregnant with her first son, while an elderly woman had to find somewhere else to live for three years while her house was fixed.
Nicholls was caught after his customers told trading standards officers he would take money from them upfront for work that was never completed and in some cases never even started.
The rogue builder, from Shrewsbury, Shropshire, ran four companies when he carried out the fraud over two years and 10 months between February 2016 and December 2018.
The costs to his victims – many of whom were in south London – included the expense of putting the work right.
Nicholls blew £52,000 of the £1.1m scammed from victims on his gambling habit, Southwark Council said.
He also took money in advance of carrying out the work, services and materials that he never…
