Lucien Carter: Fraudster Sheffield painter used every excuse in the book to skip jobs while pocketing £26,000

Sheffield Crown Court this week heard how Lucien Carter, of Sandygate Road, tried everything to avoid showing up to jobs - from his ‘paint being stolen’, to ‘wallpaper being stuck at customs in France’, to having ‘long Covid’ that caused him to forgot a booking.

Whatever the reason, the 55-year-old would then often ask for hundreds more from clients to solve these problems, only to either never finish the job or leave it “shoddy and to a very low standard.”

However, Sheffield City Council caught up to Carter about the string of cowboy deals, finding he had taken a total of £26,520 for seven jobs he never finished between 2020 and 2022.

In one case in September 2022, he even arranged to lift one retired woman’s Yorkshire Stone patio without her knowledge and sell it to her neighbour for an extra £1,200 while lying that she had agreed to the deal. When she found out, he angrily told her over a phone call she had “no right” to intervene.

Later, he reportedly refused to return the same customer’s house keys, forcing her to pay £400 to change her locks.

In another in February 2022, he was hired to paint seven staircases in a block of flats. He painted two, working a total of three hours across two visits.

Carter pleaded guilty to three counts of participating in fraudulent business practices.

At his sentencing hearing on September 13, papers showed some of Carter’s excuses for not doing jobs included: his son had broken his leg; the paint for a job had been stolen; a work mate had not turned up with his ladders; a work mate was in hospital; he was waiting for paint to be delivered from Scotland; the client’s wallpaper was being held by customs in France and he needed an extra £200 to get it through; he had a sudden dentist appointment; and his memory was affected by ‘long-Covid’ and he forgot the booking.

Several of his victims said they gladly handed over extra money when he asked because they didn’t want to put strain on him as a small business owner, only for him to disappear without finishing the work.

Names Carter has traded under include Aztec Decorators, Sandygate Decorators, and Carters Quality Painters and Decorators.

Several of the offences were committed after he Sheffield City Council had told him he was under investigation and had invited him to an interview to explain his behaviour. He did not attend.

It comes after he was also sentenced in 2016 for fraud when he tried to overcharge a law firm to the tune of £23,000, including falsifying invoices for £9,000 of materials he hadn’t bought.

Several cases included Carter promising to attend for work on any given day, or saying he would arrange a refund, only to never be heard from again.

However, Judge Enoch in sentencing: “I really am on the edge, of two minds.

“My gut instinct coming into court today was to say ‘he [Carter] is mean, offensive, opportunistic, taking people’s money when he can, not doing a good job, moving from job to job, not really caring that he was under investigation.’ I was prepared to send you to prison today for around three months.

“I don’t know why but there’s something about you that causes me to draw back, that causes me to be concerned for your welfare.”

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Court papers show Carter had told several customers he was struggling with mental health issues, telling one of his victims he was “having a mental breakdown.”

Judge Enoch handed Carter 18 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered him to both attend rehabilitation work and complete 200 hours unpaid community service.

“If you commit one single further offence in this next two years you will get the 18 months, and it will not be suspended again,” said the judge.

Carter will appear in court on October 13 this year for a proceeds of crime act to recoup customers’ lost money.