Phony roofer swindled Miami-Dade woman out of thousands, deputies say

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A 56-year-old South Florida man is facing charges after deputies said he posed as a contractor and took payments for work that he never started, let alone completed.

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The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said they took Gary Jackson into custody on Wednesday.

According to deputies, they were alerted to a Miami-Dade County Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources case regarding a victim stating that Jackson, who was doing business as Metal Roof Masters LLC, “presented her with a written contract totaling $14,000.00 to repair the entire roofing system” on Feb. 9.

Deputies said the victim made a payment of $7,800 to Jackson five days later, and a subpoena served to JP Morgan Chase Bank showed the check was deposited into Jackson’s account, which authorities said he was the sole authorized person to access the funds.

Over the course of several months, multiple attempts to contact Jackson were made via mail and phone, but deputies said he “has not made any attempt to reach a resolution or provide full restitution.”

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Additionally, investigators said they searched the Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board and the Miami-Dade County Construction Trades Qualifying Board and found that Jackson is not a licensed contractor under any state or county statutes or ordinances.

They did, however, determine through a search of the Florida Division of Corporation that Jackson was the owner of Metal Roof Masters LLC.

Deputies said the MDSO Special Predator Enforcement Team detained Jackson, and he was later taken to the Guilford Knight Correctional Center on charges of third-degree grand theft and engaging in contracting without a license.

As of Thursday afternoon, Jackson remains behind bars, with documents indicating that he was already out on felony bond at the time of his arrest.

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