Driveway firm took advantage of elderly man and stole thousands

An elderly man was taken advantage of by three members of the same family who ran a driveway firm. They pretended to be him in order to withdraw thousands of pounds and had to be stopped by family members from taking him shopping to buy them Rolex a watch. Charlotte Cassidy, 29, her brother Michael Cassidy, 21, and father William Cassidy, 53, took advantage of Paul William Lambert who was suffering with significant health issues and alcohol addiction.

Shortly after the fraud, he was found dead by his parents as a result of suffering from cirrhosis of the liver, but his family believe his condition worsened due to his treatment by the Cassidys. A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Thursday, March 6, heard the family operated under the company name Fix A Drive based in Cardiff . They first came into contact with Mr Lambert after he employed them to carry out improvements at his home in Bridgend , including work on his kitchen, the construction of a summerhouse and digging up of his driveway.



A quote was given of £18,000 for the work. F or the latest court reports sign up to our crime newsletter . But once completed, the work was found to be of a poor standard and was "worthless", said prosecutor Ian Ibrahim.

The behaviour of Charlotte and Michael Cassidy caused concern to Mr Lambert's family members after she attended the victim's home without him being there, attended private meetings with his financial advisor, rummaged through personal documentation, rubbed cream into his leg and sat on his lap. On another occasion, Mr Lambert's parents attended the property and found him in an incoherent state with his eyes rolling into the back of his head. When they questioned Charlotte Cassidy, she admitted she had given him a sleeping pill.

Both Charlotte and Michael Cassidy were at Mr Lambert's home when relatives arrived, and were told the Cassidys were going to take him out shopping for tiles. It later transpired they were attempting to coerce him into buying a Rolex watch for Charlotte Cassidy. Their behaviour escalated when Mr Lambert was taken to his building society, and withdrew £25,000 from his pension.

Around £17,000 was paid to Fix a Drive and a further £1,000 was paid. In September 2022, a referral was made to Bridgend social services over concerns for Mr Lambert, and in October of that year, the victim's financial advisor reported that a withdrawal of £15,000 had been made from Mr Lambert's pension without consultation. It was later discovered Charlotte Cassidy had made a phone call pretending to be Mr Lambert, in which she asked for £15,000 to be transferred.

Her Irish accent on the recording was recognised by the victim. When she was told the money would be liable to 40% tax if withdrawn, she appeared indifferent and said: "Yeah, fine." Mr Lambert died in January 2023 aged just 61-years-old.

An assessment was made of the work carried out at his property, which had been left as a building site, and the decision was made to knock down the summerhouse as it was structurally unsound. In a victim personal statement read to the court, Mr Lambert's daughter Claire Taylor said: "Father was hard working, a family man with an excellent career as an electrical engineer. The last few years of dad's life were hell, with mental health issues and alcohol addiction.

His physical health was in decline due to cirrhosis of the liver...

. He was extremely lonely and struggling with living alone. We did our best to support him but it was extremely difficult with work and having young families.

We tried everything to give support and help he needed. It was already an extremely difficult and upsetting situation for my dad and the family..

.. "He believed Charlotte Cassidy was his friend and trusted her and her family.

Charlotte Cassidy befriended my dad and took him out but made him pay for everything. She rubbed cream into his legs, took him to the bank to withdraw money, brought him food and sat in on private appointments. They took him to buy Charlotte a Rolex.

.. "He refused to believe Charlotte Cassidy was the person who withdrew the money until he heard the recording.

He couldn't understand how anyone could do that, especially someone he believed was a friend. He was heartbroken, mainly deteriorated and was found dead a few weeks later. His house was unfinished and looked like a building site and we paid £6,000 to put work right after his death.

The work carried out by the Cassidy family was valued at nothing." A couple also fell victim to the Cassidy family after they employed Fix a Drive to carry out work at their home in Ogmore-by-Sea. William Cassidy attended and provided a quote of £17,500 for work to be carried out.

In the second week of work, the couple became concerned about the quality and there were delays in the work being finished. William Cassidy increased the price to £18,400 and refused to carry on until this was agreed, leaving the couple feeling anxious. He later demanded immediate payment of "10,000 for work to continue, after it had been initially agreed for payment to be made on completion.

Both of the victims felt "intimidated" and "blackmailed" by his demands. It was also discovered that payments for some of the materials used by the Cassidys had been made on bank cards which did not belong to them, with three separate fraudulent payments of £3,061, £2,000 and £2,500 made. William Cassidy continued to ask the couple for further payments, but when third parties were employed to finish work, they refused on the basis the prior work carried out was shoddy.

The defendant later attended their home to demand payment of £13,500 and tried to coerce the female victim to attend the building society with him to withdraw money, which she refused to do. He attended the property again on numerous occasions and told the couple "they were from the Traveller community" and if the money was not paid they would return with an excavator and rip up the driveway. Mr Ibrahim said Mr Lambert was left out of pocket by £20,900 in total, while the second victims were left £33,700 out of pocket.

In mitigation for Charlotte Cassidy, defence barrister Hashim Salmman said his client was in a long term relationship and her partner is pregnant with their fourth child. It was said there were "historical adverse experiences" in her life and she did not progress to secondary education. Mr Salmman said the defendant's mental health was poor, for which she has been prescribed medication.

In the past, she suffered from alcohol and drug misuse and still suffers the effects of a collision a decade ago. Addressing Charlotte Cassidy, Judge Eugene Egan said: "You were not altruistic or caring, you thought (Mr Lambert) was a soft touch, someone you thought you could manipulate and extract money from." Charlotte Cassidy, of Elmgrove Road East, Gloucestershire, pleaded guilty to dishonestly make false representation to make gain for self/another or cause loss to other/expose other to risk, engaging in a commercial practice which was aggressive, and two counts of possession/control of article for use in fraud.

She was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months. She was also ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work, a 20 day rehabilitation activity requirement and an electronic tag for four months. Williams Cassidy, of Broadsheet Common, Cardiff, later pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in an unfair commercial practice and one count of fraud.

He was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. Michael Cassidy, of Broadsheet Common, pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property and engaging in an unfair commercial practice. He was sentenced to 21 weeks imprisonment suspended for 21 months, and was ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.

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