A bogus workman conned pensioners out of hundreds of pounds with the false promise of cleaning their gutters.
On various occasions in March last year, Matthew Morrison entered the home of a 99-year-old woman uninvited, pretended he would clean her gutters and induced her to give him her bank card and pay him £150.
He also went into a convenience store in the Kirkcaldy’s Kenilworth Drive and used her bank card to buy £48.30 of goods.
Morrison, 32, also admitted swindling three other pensioners – women in their 80s and 90s – out of £40 each with the false promise of providing guttering services.
Morrison, of Laxford Road in Glenrothes, pled guilty on March 7 to the fraud charges.
Previous offences
He appeared from custody at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court for sentencing, having been remanded since February 28.
The court heard Morrison had been jailed last year for offences committed more recently and he was released in November 2021.
The Courier previously reported how Morrison plucked £50 from a pensioner’s hand after strolling into her house and helping himself to a glass of water, in May last year.
It came just days after he conned a 96-year-old woman into giving him money with the promise of clearing her gutters.
On Thursday, Sheriff Pino Di Emidio gave Morrison a structured deferred sentence for three months but stressed he viewed the offences as “very serious” and a prison sentence remains at the forefront of his mind.
The sheriff said: “But you appear to have, for a relatively short period, been able to stay out of trouble since release from your last sentence.
“It basically gives you a chance to improve your position. It’s up to you.”
A review hearing for Morrison has been fixed for June 30.
