Man arrested in Toronto roofing scam with similar fraud cases on the rise

Toronto police have arrested and charged a 32-year-old man in a roofing scam that investigators believe may lead to more victims coming forward.

Police say on Jan. 31, a man approached a home in the Bloor Street West and Jane Street area in Bloor West Village. It’s alleged that the man informed the homeowner that he felt the roof needed repairs.

A contract was given to the homeowner that claimed he worked for Avenue Road Roofing. Police said the man drove the homeowner to the bank to obtain a draft for roof repairs.

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Investigators confirmed that Avenue Road Roofing is not involved in this fraud and alleged that the man used the name to appear as if he worked for a legitimate business.

On Feb. 3, police arrested 32-year-old Simon Charnock of Toronto. He’s been charged with uttering a forged document and fraud exceeding $5,000. He’s expected to appear in court on Mar. 20.

Toronto police acknowledged an increase in roofing scams since the fall of 2022, with the names of different businesses being used, and they believe there may be more victims.

Similar incidents have been reported outside of the city, as well. In January, a Mississauga couple said they were out nearly $2,000 after a man, claiming to be a contractor with “Master Fix Home Improvements,” knocked at their door and told them their chimney needed repairs. They obliged and agreed to have the man work on the roof.

The couple, asking not to be identified, tells CityNews they paid the man in cash. Once the work had been completed, they expressed their desire for a refund, noting that the job wasn’t up to par with their expectations.

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“It was such a poor job. We were unhappy and asked that the price be reduced from $2,000 to $1,200,” the woman said. “He agreed to give us some of our money back, but our calls weren’t going through when we tried to contact the number he provided us.”

After days of attempts to contact the man, he eventually returned and gave the Mississauga couple some of their cash back.

“We were suspicious from the get-go,” the woman said. “My husband said they had done such a bad job. After the work was done, we did more research. The address of the business appeared on Google Maps as an abandoned building. No one answered the phone when we called. It was a nightmare.”

“We should have trusted our instincts,” she said.

In Nov. 2022, a Toronto couple claimed they paid roofing contractors $6,000 upfront as part of a job.

“We told them we could write them a check, but they made a big deal about cash being better, so I went to the bank and got the cash,” the woman told CityNews at the time.

“My husband went back on the roof and checked the eavestroughs, which seemed fine. He also checked the flat roof, which was not spongy,” the woman said. “Then we became very suspicious.”

They immediately called to cancel the work and asked for a refund of the deposit that had been put down.