A bankrupt builder has been jailed for a year after failing to declare his status when obtaining money from five people and leaving them in “unliveable” homes.
Nigel Dinneen, 72, of Mickleover, Derby, took advanced payments for work without telling customers that he had been declared bankrupt in July 2019, as he was legally required to, according to the Insolvency Service (IS).
In a statement, the IS said his first victim, who lives in Leicester, described the builder as being “very enthusiastic” for a contract to be signed and for a deposit to be paid in summer 2019 for a £40,000 extension.
However, it said Dinneen did not tell the man about his bankruptcy when he took the advance payment, and problems arose within months.
In statement issued by the IS, the victim said: “Our children were sleeping on the floor between building materials. We were secured at the rear of the property with a tarpaulin to keep the elements and the cold out.
“We will be repaying the debt incurred to repair, rework and complete the building works until 2029. My family have missed out on evenings and weekends of activities and memories as we have been carrying out DIY to try to have a finished house.”
A healthcare worker in Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, signed a contract with Dinneen in December 2019, paying him in advance for his garage to be demolished and replaced with a two-storey extension, the statement added.
But the IS said problems soon emerged with Dinneen’s work, with the victim having to deal with the issues while he was on the frontline of efforts to deal with the Covid pandemic.
The victim eventually sacked Dinneen with the project incomplete.
In total, the IS said Dinneen obtained credit totalling £414,594 from five victims without disclosing his bankrupt status – a legal requirement if you borrow or obtain credit of £500 or more.
The IS said Dinneen also committed perjury by lying to the Official Receiver, a court-appointed official who investigates bankruptcies.
Investigations found that he had failed to declare several bank accounts to the Official Receiver following his bankruptcy, including one that the credit payments from his victims were paid into.
According to the IS, Dinneen pleaded guilty at Derby Crown Court on 15 January to five counts of obtaining credit while bankrupt, contrary to section 360(1)(a) of the Insolvency Act 1986, and to one count of making a false statement, contrary to section 5 of the Perjury Act 1911, and was sentenced to 12 months in prison.
IS chief investigator David Snasdell said: “Nigel Dinneen ruined people’s lives, taking their savings and leaving some of them in what can only be described as unliveable conditions.
“Dinneen showed a complete disregard for the law and for the victims who trusted him. We hope this prosecution provides some measure of justice for those who have suffered so greatly at his hands.
“Bankruptcy rules exist to protect the public. The Insolvency Service will pursue criminal prosecution against those who break the law by obtaining credit while bankrupt.”
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Ian Weinfass