A rogue builder has pleaded guilty to fraud following a successful prosecution by Warwickshire County Council’s Trading Standards service.
Builder Patrick Noel Doherty (age 23 years of Salter Street in Earlswood, Solihull) who traded as Shakespeare Driveways & Patios Ltd lied to the couple about the state of their property and undertook work that was overpriced, of poor quality, and in some cases completely unnecessary.
At Warwick Crown Court on Wednesday 27 May 2026, Mr Doherty pleaded guilty to three offences under the Fraud Act 2006. He will be sentenced on Monday 29 June 2026.
Warwickshire County Councillor Robert Gisbourne, Cabinet Member for Fire and?Rescue, Community Safety and Flooding said:
“Warwickshire Trading Standards will continue to take action against rogue traders to protect and support residents across the county. This includes raising awareness of rogue…
Cyber fraud uses technology as the primary weapon. It is highly scalable and can be conducted from anywhere in the world.
- Phishing/Smishing/Vishing: Using deceptive emails (phishing), text messages (smishing), or phone calls (vishing) to trick victims into clicking malicious links or revealing sensitive data.
- Business Email Compromise (BEC): A high-value scam where a criminal impersonates a CEO or high-level executive via a “spoofed” email address to trick a staff member into making an urgent, unauthorized wire transfer.