JJ Crump said all work carried out under failed ECO 4 scheme was ‘carried out in good faith’
A retrofit firm under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office over claims of alleged fraud related to a government housing energy efficiency scheme has said it “completely refutes” the claims made against it.
J&J Crump & Son Ltd has insisted that all of its work under the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) 4 scheme was carried out “in good faith” and in accordance with industry guidance.
The firm, which trades as JJ Crump, is one of three which the SFO said this week were involved in a “sophisticated conspiracy” to defraud energy companies of at least £44m of public money.
It is alleged that JJ Crump, Warmfront Team Ltd and South Coast Insulation Services used the failed retrofit scheme to submit claims where “little or no work was undertaken”.
The investigation, known as Operation Henhouse, has seen four people arrested, four homes searched in Cannock, Wolverhampton, Chilworth, and Southwell, and two commercial sites searched at Cannock and Killamarsh.
Killamarsh-based JJ Crump said: ”J & J Crump & Son Ltd (JJCrump) completely refutes the allegations made in the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) press release issued 22nd April 2026.
”The SFO carried out a search at JJCrump’s head office yesterday. No one from JJCrump has been arrested and we are fully co-operating with the SFO investigation.
“JJCrump has been established for 40 years and has worked in the energy efficiency arena delivering energy efficiency measures to homes across the UK for more than two decades.
“All the work we installed has been carried out in good faith and in accordance with PAS requirements.
“While the investigation is ongoing we cannot say anything further at this time.”
South Coast Insulation Services went into administration in February, and Warmfront was sold in 2024 and now trades under new management not connected to this investigation, according to the SFO.
The SFO’s arrests come four months after the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) called for the SFO to investigate the failure of the scheme and the parallel Great British Insulation Scheme, which were found by the National Audit Office (NAO) to have a failure rate of 98%.
Almost all homes fitted with external insulation under the schemes need repairs to fix issues including damp and mould in what PAC chair Geoffrey Clifton-Brown described as the most “catastrophic fiasco” he had seen in 12 years of sitting on the committee.
The NAO’s report also uncovered evidence of widespread suspected fraud, with energy regulator Ofgem estimating businesses had falsified claims for installations in up to 16,500 homes.
SFO director Graham McNulty has said the office would like to hear from installers and assessors who worked on these contracts and “know what really happened”, adding: “Our door is open, and coming forward is the right thing to do.”
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