# Illinois Sues Storm-Chasing Roofers, 6-29-2011



## Ed the Roofer (Sep 15, 2008)

Here is a link to the story.

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/06/29/37768.htm

Ed





Illinois Sues Storm-Chasing Roofers
By GLYNIS FARRELL 



CHICAGO (CN) - State prosecutors say "storm-chasing" roofing companies took homeowners and insurers for tens of thousands of dollars for repairs they did poorly, if they bothered to show up at all. Lead defendant Godfather Construction even set up a website to warn people of the very scam it was pulling, the state says.


Godfather would "quickly start up and wind down" its operations, cashing insurance checks and waltzing, leaving customers and unpaid subcontractors behind, the state attorney for Cook County says.


Defendants Tom Kamin and Steve Anderson, both of Flower Mound, Texas launched Godfather, an alleged "insurance claims specialist," the day after severe hailstorms hit Northwest Chicago suburbs, according to the complaint. They hired defendant Freddie Miles, of Indiana, as their lead salesman, and also worked with Illinois roofing contractor Peter Svaras, the complaint states.


Prosecutors say the defendants used Svaras' roofing license "as a foil" to get suppliers and subcontractors to work with them. But when workers were involved at all, Godfather used unlicensed workers and not the services of Svaras, prosecutors say.


Godfather allegedly took homeowners' insurance money and made lousy repair - if they bothers to show up at all. Godfather even set up a website to warned homeowners about other businesses that did what it was doing itself, prosecutors say.


"Being desperate leaves you open to being preyed upon by 'drifter contractors' who do not meet the standards of local state regulations," it said on its website.


Anderson and Kamin also used the dbas Portrait Roof Tech and Portrait Roofing & Construction, both of which are named as defendants.


Operating as Portrait Roofing & Construction, the men took a $65,000 insurance check from one woman, "and subsequently failed to perform any work and failed to refund the (woman's) insurance monies," the state says.


"On another occasion, defendants Anderson and Miles collected $90,000 from Moon Caye Condominium Association, performed incomplete and/or shoddy work, and failed to reimburse the Association's homeowners in any manner. Demand letters sent to defendant Portrait Roofing's false business address were returned 'Undeliverable' and consumers' requests to cancel the contract and obtain refunds went unanswered."


The complaint adds: "As part of their plan or scheme to defraud others, defendants Kamin, Anderson, and Miles utilized defendant Godfather Construction's Texas, Missouri, and Illinois articles of incorporation to open multiple corporate checking accounts in each of these states under various names. This enabled the defendants to easily deposit and cash checks when doing business in these states, and quickly start up and wind down their business operations by transferring monies to accounts held in other state."


Illinois seeks an injunction and damages for consumer fraud and deceptive business practices.


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## Ed the Roofer (Sep 15, 2008)

Related News Story From The Daily Herald.

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/2...ews/705229927/

Ed



Chasing ‘stormchasers’: A resident’s fight to expose roofing scammers

Czach says Godfather Construction left awning materials in her yard and did not come back to complete the job or collect their trash.


By Madhu Krishnamurthy

More than a year after a hailstorm damaged home siding and roofs in Des Plaines, some residents have been left holding the bag after a fly-by-night contractor blew through town collecting insurance money, but leaving behind woefully inadequate repairs.

The company, Texas-based Godfather Construction, was fined by a local administrative judge — $750 per homeowner that is due to the city. The company was found liable for work that was never completed and ordered to refund three residents the money, amounting to $8,500.

To date, Godfather has not responded to the complaints filed against it or appealed the Des Plaines administrative judge’s ruling.

Neither the city nor residents have been able to contact the company’s three principals, who had been involved in the work done in Des Plaines.

The Daily Herald’s attempts to reach an official at Godfather for this story also failed. Several telephone numbers associated with the company were disconnected.

Now, resident Susan Czach is trying to get county and state authorities to prosecute Godfather Construction for fraud, but so far no charges have been filed.

Czach said that soon after a severe hailstorm on April 5, 2010, a Godfather representative, Freddie Miles, came to her door offering repair services.

Czach said she paid Miles for roof repairs, siding work and an awning for her patio that was never completed. The company’s contractors did repair the roof, but the work was far from impressive, she said.

“He measured (the patio) wrong … there is a hole of about two feet (wide) and the work that was done is substandard and failed the city’s inspection,” Czach said.

The contractors left awning material in her yard, saying they were waiting on parts, and never returned. she said.

Czach has been trying to get her money back since last November, but after a while company officials stopped returning phone calls or responding to her emails.

She and two other residents filed complaints with the Des Plaines Consumer Protection Commission, which called for the administrative hearing earlier this year.

“They are stormchasers of the worst kind,” Czach said. “These people need to be ... made accountable.”

Czach has been tracking Godfather Construction’s activities and believes the company has moved on to other states. She has tried to warn homeowners like herself by filing a review about Godfather on a website ripoffreport.com.

“It seems to be a pattern,” Czach said. “They go to a town. They look for an investor. When they go from state to state, a lot of times they change their name.”

Czach has requested the Cook County state’s attorney’s office investigate Godfather’s practices in Illinois. A spokeswoman for the office’s Special Prosecutions Bureau Consumer Fraud Unit acknowledged the agency is looking into Czach’s and other Des Plaines residents’ complaints but would not comment on any investigation.

Czach also has filed complaints with the FBI and the Illinois attorney general’s office. The FBI said the complaint doesn’t fall under its jurisdiction.

The Illinois Attorney General’s office has received only six complaints in 10 years against Godfather Construction and no action has been taken, according to an official in the Consumer Fraud Intake Unit, who said it launches an investigation only when it sees a pattern of complaints against a firm.

Godfather Construction is a registered limited liability company with the Illinois Secretary of State’s Office, but is not licensed to do roofing repairs.

Documents obtained by the Daily Herald under the Freedom of Information Act from Des Plaines reveal no permits were actually issued to Godfather. However, permits were pulled by Godfather under the name Svares Roofing, a McHenry County-based roofing contractor.

Svares has denied any part in the repairs that were done on the homes of Czach and other Des Plaines residents. A spokeswoman for the contractor said though Godfather initially approached the company, a deal was never struck and she accuses Godfather of using Svares’ name and roofing license without consent to pull permits.

Des Plaines officials didn’t check whether Svares was actually working with Godfather before issuing the permits because “it’s not uncommon that a general contractor hires a sub,” City Attorney Dave Wiltse said.

There’s likely nothing more Des Plaines officials can do in the matter other than go after Godfather to recoup the fines imposed by the administrative judge by placing a lien on the company.

That decision has not been made yet, said Heather Kruse, an attorney for the city. After trying for months, Czach and two other Des Plaines residents recently got money that Godfather owed them from the bond company that insured Godfather’s projects in Illinois for $25,000.

“I’m glad that I got my money back, but I still want people to go after them,” said Czach, who got a $1,000 check — the amount she paid Godfather as down payment for siding work that was never done — days after she lost her job in April.

Meanwhile, Czach has been contacting the governor’s offices in each state where she suspects Godfather is active to warn them of the company’s practices.

“Some of the states think I’m nuts. Some of them take me very seriously,” she said. “My goal now is to stop (Godfather).”





Tips for spotting scammers

Here are some tips from one roofing company on how to determine if a contractor is a stormchaser:

• They phone you or come to your home uninvited

• They drive an unmarked vehicle or have out-of-state plates

• They pressure you to sign papers the same day

• They ask for payment before project installation

• They insist that you need to make repairs immediately

• They say they’ll contact your insurance company for you


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## JWRoofing (May 4, 2011)

We had the the same thing in Florida years ago with Wilma, but the sad thing is the News and Officials keep calling the thieves "contractors" when none of them had a license to do work. Made the industry look bad when the thieves are in reality not part of the industry, but just common criminals. It is very easy to make sure people are actually licensed. Our contractors carry their state certifications with them at all times. 

JW
_____________________________________________________
Weston Roofing - Miami Home Inspection - Miami Mold Remediation


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## ExpertStormRepair (Mar 22, 2011)

If consumers do their homework, they can avoid the bad apples.....
______________________________________________________________________________
http://www.expertstormrepair.com


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