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02
Mar
Man sentenced for Harrogate B&Q fraud
A man who pretended to return items he never bought from B&Q in Harrogate has been sentenced.
Maxi Franks, of Westmoreland Street in Harrogate, appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (February 26) charged with fraud by false representation.
He denied the offence last October and a trial was due to take place on Thursday, but he changed his plea on the day.
Prosecutor Alison Whiteley told the court the defendant entered B&Q on Oak Beck Road on July 19, 2024.
Franks was captured on CCTV selecting two tools inside the store, before approaching the till, pretending to have bought the items and wanting a refund.
The employee at the till had not seen Franks select the tools and gave him a credit note.
However, after Franks walked away from the till to shop around, the employee raised this with the manager to check the return was genuine.
The court heard staff then checked CCTV and saw Franks had selected the items just moments before he asked for a refund, having never paid for the tools.
Meanwhile, Ms Whiteley said, the 34-year-old defendant was wandering around the store and selecting more items.
“He picked up a number of products with the view of using the credit note to pay for them”, she added.
But the store manager had already cancelled the credit note before Franks could use it, which meant he had to leave the store empty-handed.
Franks later told police he had been “on sleeping tablets” at the time of the incident, which “affected his judgement”, but Ms Whiteley said he could be seen walking around the shop normally on CCTV.
She added Franks’ lengthy criminal history, including two fraud convictions, aggravated this case, despite his attempted B&Q fraud being unsuccessful.
‘It was not a particularly sophisticated endeavour’
Michelle Stewart, defending, noted the offence is “of quite some age” and “takes the defendant back to a different point in his life”.
He had been released from prison on licence at the time and was sent to live in a hostel in Leeds.
However, he was recalled back to prison due to this offence. Ms Stewart said:
In some respects, he has been punished to some extent. He accepts responsibility for this.
The court heard Franks struggles with his mental health and believes he could have ADHD, but he is now living back in Harrogate and is getting support from a relative.
He has also sought help for his alcohol misuse.
She added:
It is not a particularly sophisticated endeavour. He tried doing it … he was stopped before cashing in the credit note.
Ms Stewart told the court the defendant has made “significant steps forward in addressing the root cause of the problem, which is his addiction”.
Following the offence, North Yorkshire Police issued a public CCTV appeal to locate Franks, but he turned himself in to "avoid taxpayers paying out".
The chair of the magistrates’ bench said the offence was “singularly unsophisticated”.
Although Franks has been before the courts since the offence – and is currently serving a suspended sentence order imposed last October – the chair said he "at last appears to be doing something” with his life and working with the probation service.
Franks was given a 12-month conditional discharge.
He was also ordered to pay £200 in prosecution costs and a £26 surcharge.
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