Toronto homeowner out nearly $10,000 in alleged roofing scam, 18-year-old charged

Stewart Millet, 18, of no fixed address, has been charged in an alleged roofing scam operating in Toronto. (Toronto Police Service)

Toronto police have made an arrest in an alleged roofing scam that saw a homeowner handover nearly $10,000 to a fraudster.

Police said, on April 25, three men pretending to be roofers approached a homeowner in the area of Coxwell and Danforth avenues claimed they saw damage on their roof and offered to do an inspection.

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After the homeowner agreed, one of the men went up on the roof and provided a quote of $18,500, according to police.

It’s alleged that the homeowner gave the trio a deposit of $9,000 to start the work the next day.

The following day, police said, an “unsuspecting sub-contracted crew” began working on the roof when the suspect who provided the original quote returned and asked for an additional $3,000 to “purchase supplies.”

“When the homeowner returned from the bank with the withdrawal, the man was gone,” police said. “By phone, the man told the homeowner to hand the money to the new crew.”

At that point, the homeowner became suspicious and called police.

Three days later, three men were in the area of Eglinton and Bayview avenues when witnesses -- who police said were aware of the roofing scam -- believed the men were involved in “criminal activity” and called police.

When officers arrived, police said, they found two men on a homeowner’s property, as well as an unsuspecting sub-contractor.

A man, who matched the description from the incident at Coxwell and Danforth, was also on site and fled from police before he was arrested.

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As a result of an investigation, Stewart Millet, 18, of no fixed address, has been charged with fraud over $5,000 and mischief over $5,000.

Police said in both instances, the men identified themselves as employees of "CO Roofing & Masonry" and gave a contact number of "647-767-0300."

The unsuspecting sub-contractors were not paid any money from the scam, police said.

It’s unclear if the first alleged victim got their money back.

Although police say they believe there may be additional victims, no descriptions were provided for the other two men pretending to be roofers.

ROOFING SCAMS ON THE RISE IN TORONTO

There have been a number of similar incidents reported in and around Toronto over the past several weeks.

Just last month, a Toronto couple was caught up in a ruse that left them with a large hole in their roof and their wallets – to the tune of $16,000.

(Shutterstock.com)

Police reminded the public following that incident to verify the identity of any person or business before agreeing to any commercial transaction.

“The Toronto Police Service is acknowledging that there has been an increase in roofing scams," Media Relations Officer Cindy Chung told CTV News Toronto at the time, and added that homeowners should be wary of door-to-door offers and companies that ask for payments in advance.

Police are asking anyone with information related to the scam to contact them at 416-808-5300 or Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477) or www.222tips.com.