Builder found guilty of rogue trader fraud after police investigation
More than 100 complaints were made against Mark Killick
Last updated 23rd Oct 2025
A builder has been found guilty of defrauding his customers of more than £1.25million following a joint investigation by Avon and Somerset Police and Bristol City Council’s Trading Standards team.
More than 100 complaints were made against Mark Killick resulting in him being charged with 46 offences of fraud by false representation between 2019 and 2021, worth the equivalent of a ‘lottery win’, his trial was told.
The jury found him guilty of 37 counts and he was remanded in custody to be sentenced on Monday 22 December. Further work will be carried out to establish if any money can be regained via the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The prosecution said Killick, from Paulton, dishonestly took payments from customers, intending all along he would keep their money, rather than use it for the promised work.
Killick, who was known to his customers as Marc Cole, used some of the funds he said was to process their building projects for personal expenditure, including gambling and travel.
Detective Sergeant Louise Sinclair from Avon & Somerset Police said: “Mark Killick sold his customers a housing redevelopment dream. He left them with a nightmare and thousands of pounds out of pocket. It was fraud on an eye-watering scale.
“The change of name prevented any of Killick’s customers who researched his credentials from seeing the media reports of his previous fraud convictions. He is a serial fraudster.”