EVANSVILLE – The Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office has arrested the owner of a local construction company and issued a warrant for his partner after investigators said they charged a tornado victim tens of thousands of dollars to repair his home and then didn't complete the work .
Hanzel Ka Hoag, 52, was arrested Thursday and booked on a preliminary charge of fraud as a Level 6 felony.
According to a sheriff's office news release and probable cause affidavits obtained by Courier & Press, Hoag is a co-owner of Rooftop Construction alongside 61-year-old John Michael Shamo. As of early Friday afternoon, Shamo had not been arrested. Court records show authorities have issued a warrant for his arrest on a Level 6 fraud charge.
This is the second time Shamo has been charged with a felony on fraud charges, court records say. In 2013, Posey County authorities charged him with more than 40 counts of fraudulent securities sales after allegedly selling unregistered investments in oil wells in Indiana and Illinois.
The Princeton Daily Clarion reported at the time that he sold oil investments to landowners and then allegedly kept the money for personal enrichment. He pleaded guilty to 12 of the 47 counts, according to court records.
What the police say
The sheriff's office investigation began in October after officers were dispatched to a residence where a homeowner had filed a fraud report after work was done on his home following the April tornado.
According to authorities, the person's home sustained more than $75,000 in damage after a large tree smashed the roof. The victim's insurance company estimated that the entire roof would need to be removed and replaced, the affidavit states.
“The report states that the impact of the tree on the Millers' home resulted in extensive fractures and displacement of the west floor frame as well as the fracture of the west wall area,” the affidavit states.
The homeowner agreed to a contract with Rooftop to repair damages between $73,775 and $83,021.
“As the work progressed, the victim became increasingly concerned that the repairs were not completed in accordance with the contract and that the quality of workmanship was substandard,” the press release states.
According to VCSO, workers only replaced parts of the roof and not the whole thing. They also used old insulation materials instead of new insulation materials and “exhibited poor workmanship quality when installing new cladding.”
The homeowner paid more than $26,000. When they complained about the quality of work and refused to pay more until the problems were fixed, authorities said the contractors “stopped communicating with her. They also refused to refund the payments.”
According to the news release, Vanderburgh County Building Commission inspectors found “the work was not up to code, lacked proper permits and failed required inspections.”
Investigators spoke with Hoag and Shamo in late October, where the two were told their contract with the homeowner did not meet Indiana Code requirements. The affidavit said it did not provide a detailed description of the work, a reason for the cancellation or a list of subcontractors who would be involved in the project.
According to the affidavit, the two told authorities they were unaware of any compliance issues and believed their work was appropriate.
As of Friday afternoon, no preliminary hearings had been scheduled for any of the suspects in Vanderburgh County Court. Hoag was lodged in jail on $1,000 bail.