A notorious north-east gardener who scammed his customers out of £85,000 has avoided being sent to prison.
While operating as Gorgeous Gardens, 32-year-old George Knowles accepted deposits for work which was either not completed or never started, and refused to refund the money to those he targeted.
He appeared at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday for sentencing, having previously pleaded guilty to 22 charges of fraud.
Requiring deposits ranging from “a few hundred” pounds to £12,500, Knowles conned 25 people out of £84,810 when his business was struggling between August 2016 and March 2017.
His customers were based across the north-east, including in Aberdeen and Fraserburgh.
The court was told, however, that he did not spend the money on a “luxurious lifestyle” – instead using it to buy materials and cover other expenses so he could complete jobs for previous customers which had long-since fallen behind schedule.
Sheriff Ian Wallace said Knowles would have been facing a jail sentence had it not been for the “devastating” effect it would have on his family.
He said the gardeners’ partner, who is receiving treatment for cancer, would “be unable to look after herself or your two-year-old daughter” if he was locked away.
Knowles, who now lives in a caravan at Parkneuk in Banff, was instead placed under social work supervision for 12 months and ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work.
And he was given a 50 hour reduction from the maximum 300 hour sentence because of his early guilty plea.
Sheriff Wallace told him: “These charges disclose a very serious course of offending.
“The level of culpability involved in these offences was high.
“The sums involved were significant and the impact on the victims of these offences has clearly also been significant.”
But he added: “It is clear that, were the court to impose a sentence of imprisonment today, the victims of your offences would be no more likely to receive their money back.”
After receiving his sentence, Knowles read from a statement outside the court and vowed to compensate his victims.
“I take full responsibility for the failure of my business and thus the subsequent loss of jobs for the staff and, of course, the deposits of our customers,” he said.
“It’s extremely regretful that I was unable to return the deposits when the customers cancelled their outstanding work.
“Returning their deposits is something I haven’t stopped working towards.”
