Rogue trader found guilty of £1.25 MILLION fraud before using money for 'ponzi scheme'

A jury at Bristol Crown Court heard how Killick systematically deceived more than 100 homeowners between December 2019 and November 2021.

The court heard how Killick used payments from new clients to fund incomplete projects for earlier customers, creating a fraudulent cycle that eventually collapsed.

Prosecutors told jurors the scale of the fraud was equivalent to a "lottery win" as victims lost a combined £1,473,191 to his company TD Cole Ltd.

Killick demanded substantial upfront payments from homeowners, claiming the money was urgently needed to secure materials and place orders.

Instead, these funds were diverted to personal expenses including gambling and travel, whilst also being used to partially complete projects for customers who had paid months earlier.

The fraudster left victims in vulnerable positions after starting work on their properties before abandoning sites for weeks or months.

With their homes transformed into building sites, customers felt compelled to pay additional sums when Killick requested more money, hoping to avoid losing their initial investments entirely.

Some homeowners never saw any work commence despite paying tens of thousands of pounds. The court heard Killick also failed to pay suppliers and contractors, further increasing his company's debts.

The 56-year-old's conviction marks his fourth fraud offence since 2008, revealing a pattern of deception spanning over a decade.

He previously operated under the aliases Mark Jenkins and Marc Cole, with convictions in 2008 under his birth name and in 2014 as Mark Jenkins, his grandfather's name.

Following bankruptcy in the 2000s, Killick changed his name by deed poll to Marc Cole in January 2019, establishing TD Cole Ltd the following month.

He told the jury the name change was for family reasons, but Detective Sergeant Louise Sinclair stated: "The change of name prevented any of Killick's customers who researched his credentials from seeing the media reports of his previous fraud convictions."

This deliberate concealment allowed him to present himself as a legitimate tradesman to unsuspecting homeowners.

The investigation began in 2020 when Trading Standards received numerous complaints, later referring the case to Avon and Somerset Police.

Following a 14-week trial, the jury deliberated for several weeks before delivering guilty verdicts on 37 counts - 33 unanimously and four by majority.

DS Sinclair described how Killick "sold his customers a housing redevelopment dream" but "left them with a nightmare and thousands of pounds out of pocket", calling it "fraud on an eye-watering scale".

Martyn Nicklin, Trading Standards Investigator at Bristol City Council, said: “We work very closely with our partners in the police to ensure that offenders are brought to justice and share best practice and intelligence to ensure we are monitoring and targeting offenders and bringing them to justice.

“This prosecution sends a strong signal to other rogue builders that they will face serious consequences should they follow a similar path.”

DS Sinclair added: "Had he explained to customers Covid-19 was impacting on the when the work could be started, I’ve no doubt most, if not all, would have understood that.

"But that’s not what he chose to do, because he wanted their money.

"He chose to lie time and time again, putting pressure on customers to hand over large sums of cash to secure orders for them, when he knew the money they were giving was not going to be used for their work at all."

The jury retired to consider their verdicts over several weeks and found Killick guilty of 37 counts of fraud by false representation (33 unanimously and four by majority verdict) and not guilty on one count. The remaining eight counts he was not convicted of.

Killick has been remanded in custody pending sentencing on December 22, with authorities pursuing potential recovery of funds through the Proceeds of Crime Act.