Police Warns For Roof Repair Scam

Need your roof repaired? Don't just trust anybody. Hoboken Police sent out the following warning on Thursday, telling residents about a local scam.

The man appears to target elderly citizens, the police announced. "He sometimes claims that he needs to come through their home to access the neighbor's roof or states that while fixing another roof he noticed some damage on their's."

"Once inside," the police's warning continued, "he distracts them enough to allow him to wander through the home and take personnel belongings. (i.e. Jewelry, credit cards, cash, etc.) He will sometimes ask them to perform tasks making believe they are assisting him with assessing the damage, but it's pure distraction (i.e. 'Please stand by the faucet and turn the water on and off until I say stop').  If he does not succeed with this, he then explains that he found damage on the roof and gives them an estimate cost to repair. If they agree, he obtains a deposit from them and of course, never returns to do repairs."

Police said the man accompanied one victim to the bank to get the money. The man claims his name is "John" and that he represents "ADC Roofing". He has been described as awhite or light skin Hispanic Male who is around 35, approximately 5-foot-8. He seems to be clean shaven and skinny, police said. According to police, the suspect usually wears either a painters cap or baseball cap, with blue or black pants/jeans and a white T-Shirt. He also has several tattoos down his left arm which appear to be all above his elbow area. One victim states the actor was driving a Silver or Gray colored sport utility vehicle which had a rear spoiler and appeared to be a late model Lexus or Toyota.

If you—or somebody else—know anything, please contact the Hoboken Police Department at (201) 420-2100 if they come in contact with this individual or to contact the Detective Bureau at (201) 420-5106 if they have already encountered such a situation in the past.