Category: Scam Alert
Home Improvement Fraud by Roofers and Contractors
A roofer who hadn’t seen much business lately went neighborhood by neighborhood, offering to do free roof inspections. He offered a story about how the original builder used inadequate roofing materials and that he has personally come across three houses in the neighborhood that would have had serious damage if not for his free inspection. He of course indicates that there is no cost for the inspection, but if damage is found, he can give phenomenal prices due to his crew already being in the neighborhood.
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Crooked Contractors and Bad Roofers
Investigators in and around the Hurricane Ike area continue to track, chase and arrest the stream of crooks and fradulent contractors that poured into the area immediately after the storm.
According to police, many of these so-called 'contractors' are either wanted fugitives from other states or have lengthy criminal histories. These types, mostly from Florida and North Carolina, move from disaster area to disaster area, posing as disaster restoration contractors, roofers, remodelers, rebuilders, debris removal, carpenters, electricians, and the whole list of trades that would typically be needed under such circumstances. Many have outstanding warrants elsewhere and are wanted fugitives for varied criminal offenses.
One such 'storm chaser' recently arrested by Galveston Police, after he bilked a local woman who gave him money for work 'up front' then disappeared is 42-year old Matthew Kandl, a Florida crook and ex-convict.
We ran a criminal history check on Kandl and here's what we found:
In addition to Matthew J. Kandl, he has used the name Matthew J. Kanol and the middle name John in several of his frauds.
Kandl was released from a Florida prison work camp in April 2008 where he served time for Contract Fraud in an Emergency Disaster Area, Second Offense.
Kandle has been charged with at least 6 charges of Contract Fraud in Brevard County, Florida as well as 2 charges of Grand Theft.
Between 2004 and 2007 he was arrested in Okaloosa, Pienllas and Clay counties in Florida.
Kandl has also been convicted of Employer Worker Compensation Violation and of Battery against a Law Enforcement Officer, Firefighter or EMT.
The Police News has published pictures of these crooks online many times, but there seems to be no end in sight. Few local law enforcement agencies make an effort to expose these criminals to the public by releasing their pictures to the media unless the media hears about them through other sources and contacts the agencies for the information. Public information from law enforcement about this ongoing problem has been tragically missing as residents of the storm area continue to be bilked and abused by these thieves.