Tommy Ward pictured during an early court appearance. Photo / Melissa Nightingale
Tommy Ward pictured during an early court appearance. Photo / Melissa Nightingale
Two British men linked to the notorious "unruly" travelling tourists which famously wreaked havoc during the Kiwi summer have pleaded guilty to a roof-fixing fraud.
Tommy Ward, 26, and William Donohue, 25, were the final two British travellers making their way through New Zealand's courts after their scams and anticsmade global headlines earlier this year.
The pair appeared today in the Auckland District Court were they each pleaded guilty to obtaining by deception charges.
They now await their sentencing, after which they will almost immediately be deported back to the United Kingdom - bringing the saga of the unruly tourists to an end.
Ward and Donohue arrived in the country on a visitor's visa in mid-January before quickly linking up with 26-year-old James Nolan, who had flown to New Zealand in November.
William Donohue, left, and Tommy Ward, pictured during an early court appearance will be deported back to the United Kingdom. Photo / Melissa Nightingale
The trio then conspired to target a woman living in Auckland's Farm Cove who needed roof repair work, the court heard today.
After signing an initial $3000 contract to fix her roof, the group then claimed the woman's house required further repairs.
In the end the woman was defrauded of $10,000, while the con-artists left the unfinished worksite and the roof in a state of disrepair, the court heard.
Later, Ward and Donohue travelled to Hamilton to continue the roofing ruse with James Quinn, 59.
They again targeted a woman's home, which the group claimed needed urgent guttering repairs costing $3000.
A business card for A1 General Builders was also produced in an effort to win the woman's trust of the group's legitimacy.
However, the business card was a fake and the company - which had a false address - is not listed in the New Zealand Business Register.
The following day the woman arrived home to find the British men had removed her spouting and left it in a heap on her lawn. The fraudsters told her the roof was worse than they thought and the job was now going to cost more money.
They demanded a total of $7500 and also wanted a $3000 deposit.
The woman paid the group $2000 in cash and was given a fake invoice under the name "Tony Davis".
A day later the group returned with hired scaffolding to continue their work, but after erecting it, the woman grew suspicious of the men having reading articles about a travelling group of roofing scammers making their way down the country.
She called the police while the three men fled - leaving two holes in the eaves of her roof and the hired tools strewn across her property.
James Anthony Nolan fled the country after being bailed on assault and fraud charges. Photo / Sam Hurley
Ward and Donohue would be arrested in Lower Hutt in late February, while Quinn was arrested at Christchurch Airport in April.
Nolan was also apprehended, but was able to skip the country after being granted bail in January on fraud, assault and driving charges.
Police still have active warrants out for his arrest and have earlier said it is working with Interpol to find the fugitive.
Police allege Nolan was able to flee by using a passport belonging to a fellow member of the unruly tourists, James Doyle.
Doyle, 29, was arrested alongside Quinn at Christchurch Airport trying to leave New Zealand on his brother's passport and pleaded guilty last week.
As a result of the Nolan's escape, Minister of Customs Hon Kris Faafoi said Customs has changed its processes to now always conduct face-to-face checks when eGates reject a passenger.
The unruly tourists caused havoc during the Kiwi summer. Photo / NZ Herald
Two other British men, Johnny Quinn, 30, and Patrick Quinn, 27, were also recently sentenced and deported for their roles in a roof-fixing scam.
The summer saga began on a sunny day at Takapuna Beach. Photo / Supplied
The brothers arrived in New Zealand during late November before going on to defraud people across Auckland to the tune of $32,550.
The court heard at their sentencing that their scheme is believed to have been instigated by Nolan.
One of the scams involved conning a Remuera homeowner into believing their chimney needed urgent repairs.
It cost the homeowner $18,000 in cash and a partially dismantled chimney.
The Quinn brothers had also earlier argued - when attempting to keep name suppression - that they had been unfairly linked to the unruly tourist family.
Johnny Quinn was deported after pleading guilty to his part in a roofing scam. Photo / Stuart Munro
Tina Maria Cash was the first member of the reviled family of travellers to be convicted of running foul of the law after twice stealing energy drinks, rope and sunglasses from an Auckland service station.
The family first made global headlines after a video emerged of them leaving the waterfront lawn area of a Takapuna Beach reserve littered with rubbish.
Accusations shortly followed that members of the family had also attempted to rip-off several restaurants and motels.
They were also allegedly responsible for the "worst flight" ever, after members of the group were accused of causing a ruckus on a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong to Auckland in January.
