Rotherham man jailed for 1 year 8 months for laundering £34,688 from rogue traders

Michael Everton, 31, of Nightingale Croft in Rotherham, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court on 23 September to a term of one year and eight months after pleading guilty to five counts of money laundering under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

How the scheme worked

The funds were then passed to Everton, who facilitated their movement and concealment.

Surveyors appointed to assess the work found it to be unnecessary, incomplete and grossly overpriced. In one documented case a woman in her seventies from Sheffield was told her front wall required repairs, completed without a prior price quote, and later paid £1,925 by cheque to Everton. An independent assessment estimated the legitimate cost at roughly £110 plus VAT.

Wider crackdown

The laundering was uncovered by the National Trading Standards Yorkshire and Humber Regional Investigation Team, which operates out of City of York Council. Their inquiry forms part of a broader investigation into an organised crime group responsible for a large-scale roofing fraud across the North East, Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

During the same week, 22 members of that criminal network were sentenced at Teesside Crown Court for their role in a £1 million roofing fraud, with twelve receiving a combined 63 years and three months in prison.

Lord Michael Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, described the offences as exploiting older people in their own homes and warned that money laundering enables such crimes. He urged anyone suspecting they have been targeted by a rogue trader to contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133.

Cllr Jenny Kent of City of York Council added that facilitating criminal profit is as serious as the original offence and praised investigators for securing justice, hoping the outcome provides some comfort to those defrauded.