More victims have come forward after one of South Wales’s most notorious rogue builders was jailed again for preying on his trusting customers.
Ronald Connors, 49, threatened and conned victims out of thousands of pounds while leaving them with roofs that leaked and walls that repeatedly collapsed.
He was jailed for 15 months in 2015 and banned from working for elderly people after a court heard he had charged one woman £140,000 for a £6,000 job, and splashed his earnings on luxury cars and a big house.
This time he was joined in the dock by his two sons Jeremiah and Simon Connors, 25 and 28, who left a trail of misery at properties between Newport and Bristol.
Between 2018 and 2021, eight victims lost a combined total of £56,000 for ‘poor quality’, ‘unfinished’ and ‘hazardous’ work having pressured client into paying large sums upfront for work that was never completed.
Now the father-of-five of Rembrandt Way, Newport – who was previously described by one judge as ‘thoroughly dishonest’ – has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison.
Lord Michael Bichard, the chairman of National Trading Standards said his behaviour showed a ‘cruel disregard for customers and their safety’.
‘Victims were put in danger in their own homes and now face forking out vast sums to repair the damage done.’
Ronald Connors, 49, who preyed on trusting customers and charged exorbitant rates for ‘inadequate’ and ‘dangerous’ work has found himself behind bars again. Pictured in 2015
At a previous trial where he was convicted for aggressive business practice, the court heard how Connors lived a luxury lifestyle after charging exorbitant rates
Scores of victims have come forward to complain of leaking roofs, crumbling walls and broken paving slabs.
One victim paid £15,000 for an extension that was left unfinished as a half-built shell, open to the elements and potentially structurally unsound.
A surveyor called in afterwards confirmed that the retaining wall was built with inadequate foundations, while the boundary wall was built poorly and required significant remedial work.
Another victim agreed to pay once the work had been completed, but was pressured into paying £12,500. The trio never completed the job – and a new wall built by the firm collapsed.
Their surveyor found that other walls are at risk of falling down and estimated it would cost £23,730 to rectify the shoddy work.
A neighbour experienced similar issues when another hazardous wall built by one of the men collapsed, crushing a wheelbarrow and scattering bricks into the garden.
Again the job was left unfinished, even though the men had pocketed £2,800 in the process. The homeowner was told the cost of repairing the remaining walls would exceed £17,000.
During his latest trial, the court was told about Connors’ previous convictions for engaging in aggressive commercial practice and fraud stretching back over the last decade.
Cardiff Crown Court heard he lavished the money on new cars – including a £32,000 Range Rover. Pictured: Connors home in 2015
Veronica Walsh revealed in 2018 how the conman had begun work on her home in Newport before he was imprisoned three years earlier. He ‘disappeared’ for a period of time before calling her from prison, telling her he was away ‘visiting his sick uncle in Ireland’
In 2015 Ronald Connors was jailed for charging vulnerable pensioners between 10 and 20 times more than they should have paid for work on their homes.
Cardiff Crown Court heard he lavished the money on new cars – including a £32,000 Range Rover.
His victims also included an 80-year-old woman from Whitchurch and a man aged 60 from Porthcawl with mental health issues.
The judge at the time told him he was a ‘thoroughly dishonest businessman’ as he jailed him for 15 months.
Prosecutor Lee Reynolds said: ‘He was a rogue trader preying on the elderly and the vulnerable, charging them extortionate prices for substandard work and sometimes for work not done at all.
‘One woman was charged 20 times the value and the other, 10 times.
‘The third person didn’t hand over any money, but became upset and almost buckled under the aggressive behaviour from the defendant.’
Astonishingly, even after he was behind bars, Mr Connors called at least one of his customers from jail asking for money, before turning up at her door again after he had been released – while wearing an electronic tag.
Veronica Walsh revealed in 2018 how the conman had begun work on her home in Newport shortly before his 2015 conviction.
She had agreed to pay him £12,000 for work on her front and back garden, and a further £26,000 for a new roof.
Miss Walsh handed over £14,000 but refused to pay any more after the roof began to leak.
This image shows a drain cover built into a patio and under a garden door, which would prevent access to the drain
Another victim complained of poor workmanship in on a wall, which required another payment of thousands of pounds to remedy
The rogue builder then ‘disappeared’ for a period of time before calling her from prison, telling her he was away ‘visiting his sick uncle in Ireland’.
She told BBC News: ‘I was put on the phone to him and he said ‘it’s terrible over here my uncle is so ill’ but I could hear all this clanging and banging of doors.
‘I thought ‘what a noisy hospital’, but as it turned out he was actually in Cardiff prison.
‘He later appeared at the house and I looked down and he had his prison tag on… I couldn’t believe I was so gullible.’
She subsequently found out about his conviction for aggressive business practices.
Connors and his two sons found themselves in trouble again in 2022 when they were all convicted of barging into a builders merchants in Newport to attack Ellis McCann in a feud between the two families.
Simon Connors was caught on CCTV repeatedly hitting Mr McCann with a crowbar in front of Mr McCann’s seven-year-old son and 18-year-old nephew, leaving him with multiple bruises throughout his body and facial injuries.
He pleaded guilty to grievous bodily harm with intent and possession of a weapon, while Ronald and Jeremiah admitted a charge of violent disorder.
In his latest court appearance on Wednesday, the court heard Ronald Connors would often use the alias ‘Bill’ to hide his true identity.
The court heard how eight of his victims were asked to hand over thousands for work that was woefully incomplete and of poor quality.
One victim of the Connors family complained of a poorly-fitted door inside their home
One of his latest victims complained that a wall built by Connors and his sons collapsed, crushing a wheelbarrow and scattering bricks into the garden
In one instance, Simon Connors offered a quote of £4,500 for building work and paving on a driveway which the victim agreed to on condition it was completed in time for his wedding.
No work was carried out for the first month, and the victim was persuaded to let additional work take place, at a new price of £8,500.
After the victim had paid some funds to the conmen, the pace of the work slowed down dramatically and had not finished by the time of the victim’s wedding.
When he contacted Simon Connors, he was asked to pay more money but no-one turned up to finish the work. In total, the victim paid £6,500.
Another spoke to Ronald and Simon Connors and signed a contract for work to be carried out on her garden. She was told it would take two weeks to complete before a significant family function.
She was pressured into agreeing for a retainer wall to be built and paid £2,000. The victim then highlighted that the wall had structural issues, but was coerced into paying more money, with the Connors saying work would stop if she did not pay.
Although she was told nothing was wrong with the work, one of the walls later collapsed. The victim paid £12,500 in total, and it will cost £23,730 to repair the work, the court heard.
Ronald Connors pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation, two counts of being a trader recklessly engaging in unfair practice, one count of engaging in aggressive commercial practice and breach of a criminal behaviour order.
The court heard he had previous convictions for engaging in aggressive commercial practice and fraud.
He was sentenced by Judge Carl Harrison on Wednesday to two years and six months in prison – half of which he will serve behind bars and the rest on licence.
As he was taken down to the cells he told his gathered family in the public gallery: ‘Be good.’
In a statement made at the sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court, Prosecutor Tom Roberts said: ‘All defendants obtained money from their customers for building work which was at best inadequate and incomplete and at worst dangerous.’
Jeremiah Connors, of the same address, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of being a trader recklessly engaging in unfair practice. The court heard he had a previous conviction for violent disorder.
He was sentenced by Judge Harrison to 55 weeks custody suspended for two years. He must complete a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement and 200 hours of unpaid work.
Simon Connors, also of the same address, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation and two counts of being a trader recklessly engaging in unfair practice. The court heard he had a previous conviction for possession of an offensive weapon.
He was sentenced to 23 months custody suspended for two years and must also carry out a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement as well as 240 hours of unpaid work.
News of the latest convictions came as no surprise to many on social media who had crossed paths with the notorious conmen.
‘Yep, just ripped off my parents as well just eight weeks ago, how many others have he ripped off since 2021,’ wondered Rosie Poultney.
‘Jeremiah did my garden last year, work was not great at all, and continued to do many more in Pill,’ wrote Sabina Islam.
Newport City Council prosecuted the trio following an investigation led by the National Trading Standards and supported by Newport and Bristol city councils’ trading standards officers.
‘Taking thousands of pounds from homeowners for poor quality and unfinished work – much of it hazardous – shows a cruel disregard for customers and their safety,’ said Lord Bichard after sentence was passed.
‘This sentence sends a strong message that these sorts of crimes do not go unpunished.
‘I would like to thank the National Trading Standards regional investigation team and all of the trading standards officers involved in this case for their work in bringing these fraudsters to justice’
Anyone who has fallen victim to a similar fraud should report it to the Citizens Advice consumer service helpline on 0808 223 1133.
