Home / Crime and Justice / Rogue Builder Jailed for £1.25M Scam
Rogue Builder Jailed for £1.25M Scam
23 Dec
Summary
- Builder Mark Killick defrauded 37 customers out of over £1.25 million.
- He funded a luxury lifestyle including holidays and a Rolex.
- Killick used a Ponzi scheme, paying old clients with new clients' money.
Mark Killick, a rogue builder known as Marc Cole, faces up to 14 years in prison for defrauding 37 customers of over £1.25 million. Between 2019 and 2021, Killick dishonestly took payments for work that was never completed, leaving victims' homes in a state of disarray. He used the stolen funds to finance a lavish lifestyle, including luxury holidays and a £25,000 Rolex, and to support his gambling habit.
Killick operated a complex Ponzi scheme, using money from new customers to pay for projects of those who had paid months prior. This deception left many customers with unfinished building sites and tens of thousands of pounds lost. The 14-week trial at Bristol Crown Court found him guilty of 37 counts of fraud by false representation.
Judge Moira Macmillan highlighted the 'serious and ongoing' harm caused to victims. Killick, who had previously been convicted of fraud under different names and declared bankrupt, changed his name to Marc Cole in January 2019 and formed TD Cole Ltd. He was arrested in late 2021 after liquidating the company, continuing to take payments until days before its collapse.
