DENVER — Two Irish nationals were arrested on fraud charges related to a roofing scam that targeted the elderly shortly before they were to board a flight to leave the country, according to Denver prosecutors.
Dean Morgan and John McNamara are each charged with four counts of theft and one count of racketeering in connection with a wide-ranging roofing scam, the Denver District Attorney's Office announced.
The two are accused of targeting older Denver residents with their roof scheme between April 17 and mid-May of this year. According to prosecutors, the men falsely told their victims that their roofs required urgent attention because they were infested with insects, squirrels, or raccoons. Through the scam, they defrauded the homeowners of large sums of money and, in several cases, left their roofs damaged.
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An arrest affidavit says the men primarily contacted older adults and claimed they were canvassing the area on behalf of a business or were working in the area. They then told the victims their roofs needed immediate repairs and demanded payments by check. One victim lost $12,000. Another person wrote four separate checks totaling $59,800 but ended up placing a stop payment on them and did not lose any money. That person said the men had removed shingles from her roof on April 17 but never returned.
Another victim had also written multiple checks but only two were able to be cashed, which resulted in an $8,000 loss.
They also handed out flyers to the victims, but according to the affidavit, information on those flyers was not associated with a legitimate business.
Both were arrested in New York City before they were set to board a plane to leave the country on May 9. Prosecutors said they're also under investigation for similar allegations in California.
Anyone who thinks they may have been victimized by Morgan and McNamara should call David Dawson, an investigator with the DA’s Economic Crimes Unit, at 720-913-9054.
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