NATHAN KINGSBURY LIMITED
Nathan Kingsbury, then 39, was sent down for four years in 2021 after he admitted four counts of fraud relating to three building projects in Abingdon.
Among his victims were an elderly woman with terminal cancer who paid him £1,000 to fit a door. She died with the work still not done and her bereaved son spent months chasing Kingsbury to do the repairs, only to find that it would cost just £22 to fit a new lock and fix the door.
The trained carpenter’s three sets of victims were forced to fork out tens of thousands of pounds to make good his bungled building work. One couple fleeced by Kingsbury were forced to raid their children’s savings in order to pay for the repairs.
READ MORE: Four years inside for 'rogue builder'
The former builder, who is currently incarcerated at an open prison, was expected before Oxford Crown Court this week for a contested proceeds of crime hearinBut prosecutor Richard Heller, for Oxfordshire Trading Standards, told Judge Maria Lamb on Monday that the council and the builder’s brief had reached agreement on both the amount he made from his crimes and what assets could be sold to compensate his victims.
It was agreed that the ‘benefit’ figure was £688,566, while the ‘available amount’ to be confiscated under Proceeds of Crime Act rules was £58,220.
That represented his share in the family home, which would have to be sold in order to raise the sum.
Judge Lamb gave Kingsbury three months to pay the confiscation order and said the builder could expect to serve a year in jail if the money was not paid.
The defendant was not made to pay the council trading standards department’s costs in bringing the application. “It is understood by the prosecution if there were any more available funds they would be going to compensation,” the judge said.
In 2021, Judge Nigel Daly said Kingsbury had ‘correctly’ been described as a ‘rogue builder’.