Inside the Roofing Scam

By Bill Riales Anchor

Con-men target unsuspecting elderly people with claims of roof damage and the intent of ripping them off. Inside the Roofing Scam

Published: Tue, May 20, 2008 - 5:00 pm

Bill Riales

After a hurricane or tropical storm, the last thing anyone needs is to get ripped off. But the con-men are out there looking to separate unsuspecting victims from their money. How do they do it? Police say they mostly target elderly people. One victim, who didn't want to be identified told us about her visit from one man.
"He said to me, 'you got a leak around your roof up there and I know its under warranty but I'd like to check it for you."
He is Tommy Moore, Jr. The Mobile County Sheriff's department arrested him this past March for ripping off elderly people in roofing scams. Our victim showed us how he managed to slip away with several thousand dollars. First he told her, he was driving through the neighborhood and noticed damage to her roof. Once he had her attention, an accomplice outside, sprayed water on the roof. Inside, Moore reportedly showed her where the water came in through a ceiling fan fixture.

"And that's when he wanted a rag to wipe the water off the fan and the ceiling." she said. "He was really a pro."

Of course, the repair would cost money. He told the victim he'd need two checks, for three thousand dollars each.

"I said for what? He said well I've got to turn one of them in for insurance purposes. And the other one is for this new sealer we've got that we're using."

Only moments after Moore left, one of the checks was cashed.

Police say the scam artists have a lot in common. They may pick a neighborhood and just drive around, looking for an elderly person out in the yard--somebody they can make their next victim.

Sgt. Paul Soulier with the Mobile Police Department says there are about twenty active cases against these types of scammers. He also said, "They will make these trips and actually do these scams during the daytime because most of the other people who live in the neighborhood who might be watching out for this elderly person, they're at work--so there's no one there to help protect this person against something like that."

Besides Tommy Moore, Mobile police say they've got active warrants against two other men. Danny Cooper and Robert Jeffrey are both wanted for this same crime and may have left the state. Some of these con-men are described by police as gypsies, or travelers, tight groups of people who travel to different parts of the country doing these same scams.
Sgt. Soulier says, "They'll follow the weather and when it gets warmer they'll come down here and do certain scams and they'll go up north and do certain scams during seasonal times up there."

But not everyone falls for the scams. One woman who didn't want her name known, says a man who called himself Richard came to her door with what police say is a common story. She told News 5, "He said that his Daddy put the roof on my house and it's been raining a lot and he needed to check for leaks. Of course he was persuasive, you know."

He ran the same ruse Tommy Moore is accused of, showing this potential victim where water was leaking through her roof.

She said, "He went to the hall and the foyer and came back and said 'you want to look?' So I stepped there to look in the hall and the foyer and there was water in two places, one place in the hall and one place in the foyer."

In this case the con-man asked for two thousand dollars.

" I said 'for what?" He said you see that truck out there? There's somebody in there that sprayed fiberglass up on your roof and you won't have anymore leaks. There was no leak there."

And there was no check for the con-man. The most important thing you should know is to be very wary of unsolicited offers for roofing work.

"If you didn't call them and ask them to come and do something then its likely going to be a scam because the legitimate contractors out there, they're too busy actually doing work." said Sgt. Soulier. "They're not going to ride around looking for work."

Many victims of these scams are reluctant to talk about it or report it. Some feel they'll be embarrassed for falling for it in the first place. Police say don't be. Many of the people who commit these crimes are very good at it and get away with it more than they get caught.

If you believe you've been the victim of a scam like this, report it to police--then call us. We'll be keeping a list of names and scrims so that we can follow up and warn your neighbors who to be on the look out for.

And don't forget, Never pay for work up front, ask for references, identification and a license--and check out the person wanting your business with the Better Business Bureau.

If you've seen Danny Cooper or Robert Jeffrey, contact the Mobile Police Department.