The boss of two former mobility companies has been jailed after admitting defrauding elderly victims out of £40,000.
The companies, called Virgo Healthcare Limited and Lifestyle, were investigated by Derbyshire County Council’s trading standards team after a wave of complaints.
Both were run from premises on Gainsborough Business Park, Long Eaton, by husband and wife Amarjit Gill, 51, and Ranjit Gill, 45, of Brackenfield Drive, Giltbrook.
At Leicester Crown Court yesterday, 17 Dec Amarjit Gill was sentenced to 18 months in prison for what a judge described as “disgraceful activities”.
At a previous hearing the Gills admitted 25 offences of fraud, worth £42,515. we don’t know how many they each admitted - we’ve always had to phrase it like this in previous stories
Ranjit Gill was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid community work.
Both Amarjit Gill and Ranjit Gill were banned from being company directors for five years.
Staff from Virgo Healthcare and Lifestyle sold mobility aids – including reclining chairs, orthopaedic beds and walk-in showers – costing up to £3,892.
They supplied them to elderly buyers through home visits after telesales calls.
Some of the offences related to people not being given money back when they tried to cancel contracts during a legal seven day ‘cooling off’ period. In the worst cases, goods weren’t delivered. leaving them significantly out of pocket and without the mobility aids they had paid for.
After sentencing, Derbyshire councillor Kevin Parkinson said: “This was one of our biggest investigations and we’re pleased justice has been done.
“These crimes targeted some of the most vulnerable members of our communities in their own homes.
“The judge in this case acknowledged Amarjit Gill’s total disregard for a six-month suspended prison sentence made against him in February 2011 after we took action against his previous company, ABM Mobility.
“Our trading standards team will always take the strongest possible action in such cases and unscrupulous traders should be aware that we will not tolerate crimes of this nature.”
David Messom, 27, of Maws Lane, Kimberley, and Samuel Routh, 26, of Wilkinson Close, Chilwell, who were employed by the Gills as managers, were also sentenced.
Messom was given 12 months, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid community work, after pleading guilty to nine fraud charges.
Routh was sentenced to nine months, suspended for two years, and ordered to do 180 hours unpaid community work, after pleading guilty to eight fraud charges.
The BBC’s consumer protection programme Watchdog featured the trading practices of Virgo Healthcare Limited and Lifestyle. Both companies are no longer trading.
