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A fraudulent tradesman from Whitstable who gambled his customers’ money away has been jailed for 18 months.
Lewis Blake was a window shutter installer who took deposits totalling £64,774 from 89 different victims but spent the money on himself.
His offending took place between August 2020 and May 2021 and was reported to Kent Police by multiple victims who had created a social media group to share their experiences.
They told officers he was polite and well-presented, and that they were happy to pay him half the cost of the window shutters in advance. However Blake never returned to carry out the work, giving various excuses include the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and problems with the shipping of the products from overseas.
It was later established that Blake, 43, of Gladstone Road, had only ordered a total of 14 shutters between 2019 and 2022. He was also found to have spent over £100,000 on gambling and more than £14,000 on adult websites.
Blake pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Thursday 16 January 2025 when he was also banned from being a company director for seven years.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Beth Brimmicombe-Wood said:
‘Criminals like Lewis Blake give reputable tradespeople a bad name when they betray the trust of their customers for their own personal benefit. ‘Following his arrest he told us he had mistakenly priced himself too low and had attempted to gamble his customers’ money in order to complete the orders. But even if that were true, it was not his money to gamble with and many victims were left out of pocket as a result. ‘It is entirely appropriate that he should be sent to prison for the crimes he has committed.’