Homeowners warned of roofing scam

“We have numerous reports that have been made by citizens about being defrauded out of funds in reference to a company called Southeastern Roofing & Restoration Inc., which has since filed for bankruptcy,” said sheriff’s investigator Matt Guthas.

“What’s being alleged is theft by conversion for real property. Any contractor who takes money from someone and uses those proceeds for something else can be guilty of theft by conversion if they have done that with the intent to defraud.”

In determining intent, Guthas said investigators look for whether there have been multiple incidents and whether there was ever any work performed for the money paid.

According to local police reports, intent may not be difficult to prove. The victims gave the Cumming-based company personal checks and insurance proceeds to repair roofs damaged by hail.

But after taking the money for the repairs, the company officials kept rescheduling the work and eventually stopped responding to customers’ calls. Michelle Walker of Casey’s Crossing said her family is out almost $5,000 for work that was never started.

She said they went with the company because of its beautiful marketing materials that gave the impression Southeastern Roofing was a cut above other contractors offering to repair roofs damaged by hail.

“We had been getting little flyers on our mail box about hail damage, and we said, ‘No, we want to do this the right way. We don’t want a fly-by-night company doing it,’” she said.

So after checking out the company with the Better Business Bureau and signing the contract in February, the couple wrote a personal check to cover the $500 deductible on their homeowners policy and later signed over to the company an insurance check for $4,262.46 to pay for the bulk of the covered roof repair.

But workers never made it to the Walkers' home outside of Auburn. And according to public records, the company filed for bankruptcy on July 1 with a total of 32 unsecured creditors — including the suppliers of roofing materials, roofers and even the dumpsters for the discarded shingles — all over North Georgia.

No charges have been filed, but Guthas said the investigation is focusing on the company’s owner, Steve Ervin, as well as some employees.

“If charges are filed, it would go through the grand jury’s normal judicial process,” Guthas said.

With their insurance company denying any further responsibility for fixing the roof, all the Walkers have now for the nearly $5,000 spent is the slick marketing material calling Southeastern “a company you can trust.”

Added Walker: “It says things like ‘don’t be fooled by out-of-town storm chasers, if you have a problem with their installation, good luck finding them once they leave town.’

“That’s what made it so bad. If you saw this, you would have trusted these people. This is not a little flyer somebody ran off on a copy machine.”

Guthas said the investigating agencies would like to know if there are any more Barrow County victims of the company. Just call him at 770-307-3080, extension 3094.

And he cautioned homeowners to learn from this incident and to never give a contractor more than a down payment until the work is complete.

“Don’t do it,” he said.