Builder’s Massive Scam
A North East Somerset builder has been locked up for 14 years after duping 37 customers out of a whopping £1.25 million.
Mark Killick, 49, who traded as TD Cole, was sentenced at Bristol Crown Court for a shocking fraud spree that left dozens out of pocket.
Double Lives and Dead-End Deals
Between 2019 and 2021, Killick used multiple fake names – Marc Cole and Mark Jenkins – to bag contracts across the region. He took tens of thousands upfront from homeowners, only to ditch their building projects halfway.
Victims were left with unfinished work and serious financial damage, with some homes in a “truly shocking” state, said Judge Macmillan, who slammed the crime’s impact as “serious and ongoing.”
Lavish Living Amid Ruin
Despite raking in cash from unsuspecting clients, Killick flaunted his ill-gotten gains, including a £25,000 Rolex watch he tried to pass off as a business expense.
More than 100 complaints were lodged against him with Avon and Somerset Police and Trading Standards during his fraud operation.
Criminal Past and Future Ban
This was Killick’s fourth fraud conviction, with a history dating back to 2008. Originally from Neath, South Wales, he had relocated but kept up his dishonest building work in Somerset.
The court slapped him with a Serious Crime Prevention Order lasting five years after his release and banned him from holding company directorships for 15 years. The order will force him to stick to one name and likely bar him from construction work.
Killick denies wrongdoing, claiming he operated honestly and blamed his 2021 arrest for the unfinished jobs.
Stephen Gledhill, one of Killick’s victims, said: “Of course I’m angry, but I just feel sad for him really – that he’s behaved like that without any sign of care.”
