A builder from Sandwich, Kent, has been jailed for 22 months after defrauding multiple victims, including a pre-school, by claiming he had cancer to avoid completing work. Michael Rylands, 42, of Burch Avenue, admitted seven fraud offences and one count of perverting the course of justice at Canterbury Crown Court.
Pre-school playground scam
Rylands offered to install a climbing frame at a pre-school in east Kent at a discounted rate. He was paid £6,000 upfront and cleared a small area of the site, but never finished the job. The climbing frame he claimed he had ordered never arrived. When confronted, he told staff he was receiving treatment for cancer and could not complete the work.
Other victims and excuses
Another builder hired Rylands to fit windows as part of an office renovation and paid him £3,000. The windows were never delivered or installed; Rylands claimed they had been stolen. In July 2020, a woman paid him £2,000 for a bathroom renovation. After receiving an anonymous email warning about his offending, she challenged him and asked for her money back. He lied, telling her his bank account had been frozen.
A further victim reported a similar experience with an ensuite bathroom, losing funds and experiencing incomplete work. They also noticed their own tools and cash had gone missing from the property. Rylands also kept £450 after advertising a laptop for sale online. When the buyer tried to collect it, Rylands claimed he had been admitted to hospital and would post it instead. The laptop never arrived, and he blamed both postal services and his bank.
Perverting the course of justice
In November 2022, while a defendant in a different fraud case, Rylands tried to stop the trial by lying about hospital appointments for cancer treatment. Checks at the hospital revealed no record of him on the patient database. He was subsequently charged with perverting the course of justice.
Police statement and sentence
DC Benjamin Deegan said: 'Our investigation uncovered a trail of unhappy people who had put their trust in Rylands and ended up out of pocket. He seemed to show little remorse for his actions, and thought that claiming he would provide him with a get-out-of-jail-free card. He had a flagrant disregard for people and property and I am pleased we were able to bring him to court to face justice.'
Rylands was sentenced to a total of 22 months in prison for the fraud offences and perverting the course of justice.
