A Cambridge man who admitted to swindling seniors out of money will likely face a far longer sentence than the Crown had been asking for.
Brian Bingley pleaded guilty Monday to fraud, uttering threats and breaking and entering.
Bingley was arrested in Toronto last month – about five months after a warrant for his arrest was issued in Waterloo Region.
Police had said that Bingley was targeting seniors in parts of Cambridge and Kitchener, approaching them with offers to clean their eavestroughs or perform other odd jobs, then taking their money and never doing the work he had promised to do.
In one case, a home was burgled after the offer of eavestroughs-cleaning was turned down. In another case, Bingley admitted to duping a 97-year-old woman out of $100 by falsely promising to work on her carport. Court documents show that he targeted elderly women who lived alone.
Following Bingley’s guilty plea, his lawyer asked for a six-month jail sentence. The Crown countered with a sentence of eight months.
Justice Craig Parry declined to deliver a sentence on Monday, but did say that his sentence would likely be significantly longer than either suggestion – potentially in the realm of three years.
Bingley returns to court May 3 for sentencing. Given a chance to speak in court on Monday, he apologized to his victims.
According to Bingley’s lawyer, the 57 year old has struggled with mental health and addiction issues for much of his life. According to the Crown, he has 18 prior convictions, including some for robbery and assault.
With reporting by Nicole Lampa
