A rogue trader from Staffordshire has been ordered to pay back £264,000 under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) or face further jail time.
Richard Stubbs, a former police officer aged 57 of High View Road, Endon, was handed the confiscation order at a hearing at Stoke-on-Trent court on Friday 27th February 2026.
He was ordered to pay £264,000.64 including £151,624.85 compensation to victims of his fraud and was given three months to do so or face an additional two and a half years in prison.
Stubbs was given a five-and-a-half-year jail sentence in July 2024 and served 15 months before his release under the government’s early release scheme. He was found guilty of fraud, fraudulent trading and perverting the course of justice having ripped off customers by failing to supply kitchens and bathroom for which he had taken payments. Stubbs was also given a 10 year Criminal Behaviour Order and was prohibited from being a company Director for the same period.
The rogue trader sold kitchens and bathrooms to consumers initially via his companies Idesign Kitchens & Bathrooms Ltd based in Leek and Peak Kitchens & Bathroom Ltd based in Buxton.
The POCA confiscation followed a five-year-long investigation by Staffordshire County Council’s Trading Standards service.
Anthony Shore, Trading Standards Operations Manager at Staffordshire County Council, said:
“This has been a particularly drawn out and complex case for the team and we’re pleased with the outcome.
“The confiscation order sends out a clear message that we will not allow crime to pay.
“Through his actions, Stubbs knowingly ripped off some very vulnerable people, leaving them vastly out of pocket and in some cases in poor health following their ordeal. He profited out of his victims misery, spending money he had taken from them on travel, eating out and his own living expenses. We will use every power available to us to ensure criminals are stripped of the profits of their offending.
“We will not tolerate fraudsters and rogue traders operating in our county and our Trading Standards service is actively cracking down on them. Anyone caught ripping customers off and breaking the law will face the full force of the law, including prosecution.”
