A Delaware man is facing felony charges after he allegedly scammed a Telford resident into paying nearly $4,000 for fraudulent roof work.
James Burke, 50, of Bear, DE, has been charged with felony counts of theft by deception and making false statements to induce an agreement for home improvement services, as well as a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief, in connection with the investigation by the Hilltown Township Police Department.
According to the criminal complaint, police were contacted by the victim in September 2020 regarding roof work a contractor — later identified as Burke — had performed on their Reliance Road home. The victim stated the contractor had approached them regarding having their roof sprayed with “white aluminum,” to seal cracks in asphalt shingles, and requested $3,800 in payment to cover the roof of the house and their car port, the report states.
The contractor then performed the work, provided a 10-year guarantee for the shingles, and left immediately after being paid, police said.
The following day, the victim spoke to a different contractor who viewed the work and said the contractor had used an aluminized spray that was not for use on asphalt shingles, the report states. The 10-year guarantee was also proven to be false, police said.
The victim was unable to track down the contractor to dispute the work, however on Dec. 31, 2021, Burke was arrested by the Pennsylvania State Police for home improvement fraud in Reading, where he allegedly charged $3,800 to repair a chimney, the report states. That arrest was published in a Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center report, and investigators were able to link the two incidents, police said.
The victim subsequently picked Burke out of a photo lineup, and he was charged and taken into custody afterwards.
Burke is currently free on $15,000 unsecured bail, and his next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on April 26 at 2:30 p.m. in front of District Judge Regina Armitage.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.
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