Louisiana contractor indicted for allegedly damaging homeowners’ roof

Early one morning in August, a roofing contractor arrived at the home of a couple in Lafayette, Louisiana and asked permission to inspect the home’s roof. The arrival of the roof was not unexpected.

The couple, who go by Jordan and Sarah, had been approached a few days earlier by a neighbor whose roof had recently been repaired. The neighbor asked Jordan and Sarah if they would like a reduced roof inspection by the same contractor who did the neighbor’s roof. The couple agreed, and within days a contractor called to set up a time for an inspection.

When Zechariah Moore, a field representative for the Roofing Guys, returned from a 90-minute inspection of the roof on August 6, he gave Jordan and Sarah bad news: the roof needed severe repairs at a cost of 30,000 -$40,000. After showing the two pictures of the roof damage, Moore left them with the business card.

Later that day, Moore sent Jordan more photos of the roof and said wind damage was the likely culprit.

“Because of some of the recent storms, I would say file a claim now and prepare your home in case a named storm comes and you have to pay over 10,000 to replace your roof,” Moore wrote to Jordan.

If Jordan acts now, Moore wrote, he could replace the roof for just the cost of the couple’s insurance deductible.

As Jordan and Sarah would soon find out, not only was Moore’s offer too good to be true, it was part of an alleged scheme to intentionally damage the couple’s roof, then misrepresent the cause of the damage to the homeowners.

Moore, in fact, was not the same contractor the neighbor recommended, but a bad actor out to defraud the couple’s homeowner’s insurance carrier, according to the Louisiana Department of Insurance’s cease and desist order.

“Louisiana homeowners face enough stress and uncertainty about protecting their homes and families after a storm,” said Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple. “LDI is working more closely than ever with our law enforcement partners, and we will not tolerate rogue contractors or other bad actors who defraud policyholders and insurers for profit.”

A closer look

A day after Moore inspected Jordan and Sarah’s roof, the couple contacted a contractor from the company who was supposed to do the initial inspection. Daniel Day of Top Team Roofing inspected the couple’s roof on August 8 and concluded that the damage Moore noted on the roof was man-made.

Day said the shingles on the roof were equally damaged and wind damage does not cause equal damage. Day informed the couple that the entire roof would need to be replaced.

An inspection report provided to the couple stated that the damage to the roof was not consistent with naturally occurring wind damage.

Commissioner Temple found that Moore, in support of a claim for payment, fabricated the man-made damage, misrepresented the cause of the damage to Jordan, and advised Jordan to file a claim for the home damage.

“Our high property insurance rates are compounded when insurance companies pay claims for man-made damage caused by bad actors,” Temple said. “And our citizens are suffering from a loss of trust in the individuals they need to help get their homes and lives back in order.”

The couple’s insurance carrier, Louisiana Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance Company, issued a settlement on Sept. 18 for $23,627, which is the actual cash value of the estimated roof repairs minus the couple’s deductible.

On Sept. 26, Moore was arrested by the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office and charged with criminal damage to property with intent to defraud, a felony. He was booked into the Livingston Parish Detention Center pending his release on bond the same day.

Moore and Roofing Guys LLC were served with the cease and desist order on Oct. 1 and have 30 days from the time of the notice to file an administrative appeal or the action becomes final.

TOPICS
Louisiana Contractors Homeowners