Fake contractor charged with fraud
Posted Oct 4, 2011 03:01:00 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Ottawa Police are looking for more victims of a man who posed as a contractor and made away with thousands of dollars.
Sgt. Mitch Proteau says the fake contractor would take out ads in local publications to lure his victims.
“The victims would phone the number,” he said. “He would come over and provide an estimate for them for the work after which he’d ask for a deposit. Once the deposit was made, he would either come to the house at a later time and do a minimal amount of work and perhaps ask for more money for materials, for example. Or if he received a large deposit, then he wouldn’t return and do any work at all.”
The suspect operated under several business names, including H2O Waterproofing Inc., Canadian Solar Energy Solutions and Patterned Concrete Solutions.
Proteau says the phone number for each company was the same.
Charles Soberano, 38, has been charged with six counts of fraud under $5,000, four counts of fraud over $5,000 and 10 counts of breaching probation.
Proteau says they expect to lay more charges in the coming days.
He adds, people should always check out testimonials of past customers, and even go to their homes to see the work first-hand before hiring a contractor.
Police believe there could be a number of other victims, and are asking anyone with information to contact them or Crime Stoppers.
