Irish nationals arrested attempting to leave U.S. following Denver roofing scam unveiled by CBS News Colorado
Two Irish nationals have been arrested for their alleged roles in a roofing scam first unveiled by CBS News Colorado.
Dean Morgan and John McNamara were arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York and were charged with theft and racketeering for their alleged roles in scamming Denver residents out of money.
The scam was first unveiled by CBS News Colorado reporter Dillon Thomas. Thomas worked with CBS News Colorado photojournalist Rob Gajdecki to locate Congress Park residents who had been targeted by the scam.
Gajdecki, who lives in the same area, learned some of his neighbors had been scammed out of more than $10,000 each by a roofing company that appeared to be targeting older residents.
Gajdecki and Thomas met with Jim Ford in early May, one of the homeowners who had been among the first to fall victim to the scam. Ford, and others in the neighborhood, told CBS News Colorado they were approached by Morgan and McNamara at random.
The duo claimed to have noticed an issue with their respective homes while passing by. The duo would then claim they would repair the damages they saw for free so long as the families were willing to consider a tip.
However, the alleged scammers than ascended onto roofs and allegedly planted worms under shingles. They would then take photos of the worms under the shingles and show them to homeowners claiming they were maggots that needed immediate work, the victims say.
Some fell for the scam, writing checks for work that was never done. Others ordered the men to get off their roof, but part of their shingles had already been destroyed by the alleged scammers.
"Quite frankly, I wanted these guys to get caught," Ford said one month after being targeted. "It is still hard for me to believe I fell victim to it,"
After CBS News Colorado aired the report, many in the Denver metro area said they, too, had been targeted by the same men and scheme.
CBS News Colorado's initial report found at least three homes that had been targeted. However, once the story started being shared around the community, a much larger problem was discovered.
"Since we last talked, what appeared to be two or three people in this neighborhood being vandalized, is now turning into an international investigation," Ford said.
Morgan and McNamara were quickly identified by investigators in Colorado. Ford applauded those who looked into their case for going above and beyond to quickly identify the alleged scammers and get a warrant for their arrest.
The duo was about to board a flight to Dublin when police in New York took them into custody,
"Did you ever fathom that the scope of the fraud was as wide as it was?" Thomas asked.
"No. No. No. I think, initially, we thought it was pretty limited to a small area in the Denver metro area," Ford said. "If you hadn't done this story, I don't believe we would be having this conversation."
Ford said he appreciated how investigators heard his story and used the full extent of their abilities to quickly arrest the men allegedly involved.
"I believe, were it not for the news story, this probably would not have gotten the attention it did in our community," Ford said.
McNamara and Morgan both face charges of racketeering and theft. Prosecutors say they believe the men might have also scammed people in similar ways in states like California.
"I am hoping these guys are done scamming people," Ford said. "I feel better about the fact that hopefully by getting the word out, by you covering the story and others getting involved, we might have prevented other people from getting scammed," Ford said.
Ford and some of his neighbors said legitimate roofing companies saw CBS News Colorado's report and offered to repair their roofs for free. Ford said Columbine Roofing out of Longmont agreed to fix his roof free of charge, as did Synergy Roofing and Solar. Ford said his roof should be repaired in-full in the coming week.
Correction: In an earlier version of this article, Dean Morgan and John McNamara were described as being Irish nationalists. That has been corrected. They are "Irish nationals."
