Carson City con man sought in roofing scam

Police are warning Carson City residents of a scam an elderly man fell victim to recently.

According to Detective Craig Lowe, on March 30 the 86-year-old victim was approached at his home on Ethel Drive by a man claiming to be a roofing contractor. The man told the victim he noticed recent winds had torn shingles off his roof. Seeing that he was missing shingles, the victim agreed for the man to come back to the following day to work on the roof.

On March 31, the man returned with two others and spent several hours on the roof. Then he gave the victim a bill for $9,700, said Lowe.

Uncertain on how to proceed, the victim offered the "contractor" a check, but the "contractor" told him he lost his wallet and didn't have identification. The two proceeded to the Greater Nevada Credit Union where the victim was unable to withdraw such a large sum. The victim then went on to Bank of America and ultimately gave the man cash.

After surveying the work completed, the victim felt he was conned and reported it to police, said Lowe.

"They replaced a few tiles and sprayed some stuff, and they gave him a fictitious receipt," said Lowe, noting the receipt listed a bogus phone number. "Come on, $9,700 worth of work in a half a day?"

Lowe said the "contractor" is described as a white man in his 40s, 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 8 inches tall, about 170 pounds with brown hair. He was driving a red standard-sized pickup truck with a rack with a ladder on it. The victim didn't get a license plate number, but there was an American flag card filling the plate slot on the front of the vehicle. The two men that accompanied him on the second day also were in their 40s.

Anyone with information on the suspects or who may have fallen victim should contact Lowe at 887-2020 ext. 41403.