Patrick Teehan, 57, defrauded his customers by taking large deposits while carrying out shoddy work and failing to turn up for work.
A rogue builder took thousands of pounds from his victims and lied about making suicide attempts and his wife having cancer as excuses for not turning up to work. He sent a suicide note to one victim, who was left so concerned they contacted the police.
Patrick Teehan, 57, who operated as a builder in Cardiff would take on jobs and received payment in advance of them. However, the work he carried out was substandard and required restorative work from other builders.
A sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Friday heard there were 15 victims in total, and in a number of cases the defendant had taken money but did not carry out any work. For the biggest stories in Wales first sign up to our daily newsletter here.
Prosecutor Lee Reynolds said Teehan took large deposits up front to be used for materials but only rudimentary and destructive work would be carried out before he would make further demands for money.
The work taken was of a poor standard and unskilled and incompetent workers would be used.
The defendant would also use fake addresses and paperwork in order to evade detection and hid behind outlandish excuses, which included false claims he had made attempts on his own life.
In 2021, Teehan entered into a voluntary agreement regarding his financial circumstances, but continued to offer work to further victims.
In December 2019, the defendant was employed to construct an outbuilding and was paid £2,000 in total but very few materials were purchased and the minimal amount of work carried out was substandard. He failed to attend for the majority of the project, and relatives told the victim Teehan had tried to take his own life.
The work had to be completed by another company at a cost of £11,000. The victim said she found the ordeal stressful and a financial burden. She added: “My trust in trades people has gone… He decided to cheat me out of money.”
The second victim employed the defendant to carry out a loft conversion in Victoria Park, Cardiff, and he was paid a deposit of £1,200 before the Covid lockdown occurred.
Work began in January 2021, and Teehan was paid £60,000 in total but the work was poor and the roof needed to be repaired. The victim lost £25,000. She said: “He said he had a car crash, his van broke down, had no internet, was stuck in Barry, had Covid, his wife had cancer of the blood, and said he tried to commit suicide due to having mental health issues from his time in the army.”
The third victim employed Teehan to carry out a garage conversion in Cowbridge Road East, in Cardiff, which was not completed and was of substandard quality. The victim lost a total of £6,000, after the defendant failed to show and broke promises to carry out the work. Teehan told the victim he couldn’t attend as he was having a drink with his son, overslept, his wife was on the missing person’s list and he was having a mental breakdown.
The defendant also claimed to the victim he had attempted to take his own life and sent him a suicide note on What’s App, which led the victim calling the police out of concern. He said he had been left “devastated and in debt”.
The victim added that he was made to believe by Teehan that he had put so much pressure on him, he had caused him to make an attempt for his own life and believed he would have been responsible for his death.
The fourth victim employed Teehan to build a garage extension, patio and fence at her home in Penarth. She paid £19,000 in December 2020, but the work was never completed and was of a substandard. She was left out of pocket by £3,373.
The fifth victim employed the defendant to replace a roof and conservatory. She paid Teehan £1,400, with the work only meant to take a couple of days. But he did not start the work for four months.
The victim had to pay another contractor to fix and complete the work due to the roof leaking. Teehan claimed he had been unable to attend her home after starting the job as he was in hospital. The victim said she had been left “upset and angry” by the defendant’s actions, and believed he had no remorse.
The sixth victim engaged the defendant to build a single storey extension in 2021, but the work was not completed with the victims left out of pocket by almost £9,500.
The victim said he was told by Teehan’s wife he had admitted himself into a mental health unit for ex servicemen, but found out he was on holiday in west Wales. This left the victim “sickened and angry to the core”.
The seventh victim said she employed the defendant to carry out work on her kitchen in 2021. She lost £6,000 as a result of substandard work and materials which had been paid for not being purchased.
Teehan left the job and made promises to return but he never did. He told the victim he was in a mental health facility, but his social media showed he was training for a boxing match.
The eighth victim engaged Teehan to carry out rendering work at her home in Church Village in 2021. She paid the defendant £4,500 but no materials were purchased despite him claiming he had spent it all. The only work carried out was hacking old rendering off walls, which left her driveway in a mess.
The victim lost £6,000 and when she contacted Teehan, he told her he had been in a clinic for his PTSD.
The ninth victim employed Teehan to carry out work on his chimney and roof at his home, but the defendant simply did not turn up to work and provided no explanation. The victim said he and his family were in “anguish” due to the offence.
The tenth victim engaged the defendant to carry out a garage conversion in 2021 and paid him £5,500. He failed to turn up to begin work.
Teehan made excuses that he had fallen off a ladder and damaged tendons in his hand, there was a delay with materials, his daughter was ill and he had to look after his grandchildren. Someone claiming to be the defendant’s business partner also told the victim he had suffered a breakdown and was in Llandough hospital.
The eleventh victim said Teehan was employed in building a patio, installing a door and removing a wall at an address in Cardiff. They paid £1,500 but the defendant did not return to complete the work. They received some money back from their bank and are owed £737.
The twelfth victims paid £1,800 for plastering work which was not completed and was of a poor standard. Teehan claimed his bank account had been frozen and the victims had to pay £1,200 to complete the work.
The thirteenth victim in Whitchurch paid £1,000 to the defendant but he did not turn up on 10 agreed dates, before failing to take phone calls and blocking the victim.
The victim’s wife took her own life in 2021 and said: “He put me through hell knowing he had gained my trust.”
The fourteenth victim from Lisvane employed Teehan to carry out decking and gardening. The only work carried out was the digging of a trench filled with concrete.
The defendant failed to return and the victims were owed £7,500. Teehan claimed he was in hospital having a heart procedure and left the garden looking like a building site.
The fifteenth victim employed the defendant to build a summerhouse but the work was poor and not finished. A fence, for which the victim had paid £3,000 a year earlier, was destroyed and the garden was left in a mess. The victim was owed a total of £8,000.
Mr Reynolds said Teehan was invited for interview but put it off a number of times, with excuses including him driving a vehicle to the Poland/Ukraine border and cutting his leg with a Stanley knife.
The total loss caused to the victims was calculated at £82,632.
Teehan, of Chichester Way, Ely, Cardiff, pleaded guilty to participating in a fraudulent business carried on by a sole trader.
The court heard he has previous convictions of a dissimilar nature, including an offence of robbery for which he received and eight year prison sentence.
In mitigation, Andrew Davies said his client was remoreseful and “overwhelmed by grief” at his offences.
The barrister said the defendant had made an attempt on his own life in November 2021, after he was found unconscious at junction 33 of the M4.
It was said the defendant has travelled to Poland and Ukraine for three years in order to carry out volunteer work.
Sentencing, Judge Carl Harrison said: “You left a trail of devastation for your victim which went far beyond financial loss.”
Teehan was sentenced to a total of 43 months imprisonment.
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