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Adam Stark, 31, and Ali Jennings, who met on Tinder just before the first lockdown and are already engaged, had set up a GoFundMe page for help to transform their home, which they say hasn’t been updated for at least 20 years. They bought the house just before Christmas, less than a year after meeting.

Both young, both working, stop begging and get some dignity and pride

A Facebook user

The couple, who are both key workers, created a GoFundMe page to allow people to donate money for the renovation, reports Stoke-on-Trent Live.

But since the page was set up, it has emerged that Stark was previously jailed for his involvement in a £500,000 car crash scam. He and 11 other criminals engineered 41 crashes, then fraudulently claimed for non-existent injuries, damage and storage costs over a period of two years.

Their scam involved a lead car swerving “violently”, causing a second vehicle in the convoy to brake suddenly and the target car crash into the back of it.

The group were put behind bars for a combined total of 42 years and seven months. Stark denied conspiracy to commit fraud, but was found guilty, jailed for almost five years and ordered to pay back £2,434.59. He was released early for good behaviour.  

Speaking about the conviction, Stark said: “I’ve made a mistake. I’m not proud of it, but now it’s in the past.

“I’m open about it and have nothing to hide. It happened when I fell in with a bad group of people.

“Now I’ve done my time and it’s behind me. If asked, I wouldn’t lie about it.  

“It was a bad point in my life and it’s changed me and made me a better person.”

The lorry driver added: “I’m now settled down and have a job helping people. It’s a new chapter in my life and my conviction’s no longer relevant to me.

“It seems you just can’t seem to shake off things that have happened in the past and mistakes you’ve made.

“I’ve taken my punishment for it and everyone deserves a second chance in life.

“I’d now ask people to allow me to move on with my life.”

When he and Miss Jennings uploaded their GoFundMe page, strangers told the couple to “stop begging”.

“Both young, both working, stop begging and get some dignity and pride,” wrote one man.

“They should be happy they got a roof over their heads, so many haven’t. The absolute cheek of ’em,” another post reads.

One woman shared: “What a joke. Using the excuse they are key workers is ridiculous!! I seriously hope no one ‘donates’ to this.”

Another Facebook user said: “This is totally unacceptable. To be so entitled and cheeky is not on. As key workers we are lucky to still have our wage, a contract and regular hours. I hate this; it gives the rest of us a bad name.”

Since Stark’s criminal past was exposed, he and his partner removed the webpage. They had raised just £10 from a single anonymous donation.

He does believe the reaction to his conviction “was over the top”.

“The reaction’s been over the top. If it was this time last year, it would’ve been a different story,” he continued.

“People were saying NHS workers deserve more than they get and there were fund-raising campaigns everywhere.

“I’m not saying I’m entitled and, granted, it was a bit cheeky asking.

“I accept that was a bit cheeky. Sometimes you can be a bit cheeky and sometimes you can’t.”

In their plea for help, the couple claimed the property in Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, was “very old,” and hadn’t been renovated for upto 30 years.

Stark, who works as a lorry driver delivering medical supplies to NHS hospitals and treatment centres, previously said: “I know with everything that is going on that there’s a lot of support for key workers at the moment and it was suggested to me by a friend to do this and I thought ‘why not’.

“I can do a lot of the work myself but I will have to get other people in. It’s the bathroom and kitchen that mainly need doing. We want them redoing completely but we don’t mind if it is second-hand stuff.

“I believe the house did belong to an elderly gentleman and it has not been touched for 20 to 30 plus years. It’s all very old and needs updating.”

Miss Jennings, a technician at a clinic treating NHS patients, had been saving with her partner throughout the lockdowns for their first home together. 

Stark, originally from Long Eaton, Derbyshire, previously added: “After meeting we pretty much moved in together a week later into her mum’s and saved for a deposit for a house. We’re now engaged and it doesn’t feel real almost.

“We moved here as the area is beautiful, it’s a lovely house, a lovely street and a lovely community. The house has not been neglected, it just needs updating.

“We saw the potential this house had and thought we could make it our family home. We saw a lot of houses in different areas and thought this was the right one.

“If people were to donate things to the house or if tradespeople don’t have money but want to donate a day off to help us that would be amazing. We’d appreciate anything like that.

“We’d appreciate any help we can get. We don’t expect to get the whole house done for free but a little bit of help would be amazing.”

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