Richard Stubbs (55) received a five-and-a-half-year sentence after being found guilty of fraud in May. Stubbs has also been banned from serving as a company director for 10 years.
The former police officer, who lives on High View Road in Endon, was convicted of a total of seven counts of fraud.
In May, the court heard that Stubbs received money for several home renovations but abandoned the work before completion.
As a tradesman, he fronted two separate businesses – Design Kitchens and Bathrooms and Peak Kitchens and Bathrooms. Both enterprises were linked to Stubbs’ fraudulent activity.
Earlier this year, Stubbs was convicted of seven charges of fraud, three charges of fraudulent trading, and two charges of attempting to prevent the course of public justice.
The total amount of loss that Stubbs caused to credit card companies and consumers was £134,439.
Mitigating for Stubbs, Hugh Barton stated: “Since the early 2000s he has been running businesses designing and supplying kitchens and bathrooms. There is no suggestion this was anything other than a legitimate successful business. He did not set up his business with the intention to commit fraud and traded lawfully over many years.”
He continued: “The offences were committed in an increasingly desperate attempt to keep his business afloat. There was a genuine cash-flow crisis in 2019. In June and July 2019 he was still spending large sums of money obtaining goods for kitchens and bathrooms as he attempted to honour contracts.”
The co-accused Carl Egerton (54), of Cheddleton, was sentenced to 16 months in prison on a suspended sentence. He’ll also have to pay £2,500 in costs and carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.
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