Two men charged in roofing scam

Two Summerville, Ga., residents have been arrested and charged with forgery in what authorities call a scam to defraud residents through phony roofing deals and false documents.

William Benefield, 29, owner of Qenkor Construction, and his mother, Sandra Weaver, 47, were arrested Wednesday on 46 counts each of first-degree forgery and making false statements, authorities said.

State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine said the scheme worked by falsifying documents and using scare tactics to take advantage of elderly homeowners.

Mr. Oxendine said a contractor would tell a homeowner there was hail damage to the person's roof. The contractor would agree to fix it and take care of the insurance paperwork. Then the contractor would pose as the property owner and file a claim. At the same time, the contractor would forge a notary's signature and file a false lien against the property.

Sometimes the contractor would threaten to take resident's homes unless they paid for roofing work that never happened, Mr. Oxendine said.

The contractor "was really kind of scaring all of these folks," Mr. Oxendine said in a phone interview Thursday. "When someone says you're going to lose your home or I'm going to take it from you, that scares people."

Mr. Oxendine said suspicion was triggered by the number of claims filed. After a hailstorm late last year, insurance customers filed about 50 auto damage claims but about 500 claims for roof damage, he said.

WHOM TO CALLAnyone with questions about this case or similar ones is asked to call the office of the Georgia insurance commissioner at 800-656-2298.

Chattooga County Sheriff John Everett said people shouldn't trust offers of something for nothing.

Everyone, he said, should use caution when dealing with any company or person offering to do work on their homes.

"Never deal with or sign a contract with a company or individual who tells you not to contact your insurance company," he said.

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