Lancing woman sentenced for role in £800k building scam

The fraudsters were caught in a joint investigation between the Metropolitan Police and Trading Standards

A woman who allowed her kitchen to be used as a fake show home in a £800,000 building fraud has been sentenced.

Louise Shiangkwang, 50, has been handed a suspended jail term for her involvement in the scam.

She pleaded guilty to fraud after her kitchen in Lancing, West Sussex, was used as a fake show home.

Two men were earlier jailed for a combined total of 11 years for scamming victims through their firm Contemporary Home Improvements Ltd.

Shiangkwang was sentenced to 22 months in prison, suspended for two years.

A trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court heard how Brian Tutton, 62, from Ashford, Kent, and 50-year-old Scott Parker from Portsmouth, scammed 61 victims out of £831,170, taking thousands of pounds with no intention of doing any building work.

Shiangkwang had passed off building work in her kitchen as being done by Brian Tutton, when in fact the work had been carried out by a neighbour.

She was paid for allowing her home to be used by Tutton, the Metropolitan Police said.

(L to R) Brian Tutton, Scott Baker and David Gogo were behind a scam that netted over £800,000

A third man, David Gogo, also received a suspended sentence for posing as the firm's architect.

The fraud was uncovered after a spate of complaints about the company in late 2017 and a joint investigation was launched by Trading Standards and the Metropolitan Police.

The judge at Snaresbrook Crown Court also ordered Shiangkwang to carry out 160 hours of community service and pay a £140 victim surcharge.

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