Bogus Home Contractors Busted In Undercover Sting

An undercover sting operation by the Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs – at a home along the Passaic River that had been flooded after hurricane Irene – has resulted in charges being filed against a dozen unregistered, bogus home improvement contractors.

State Consumer Affairs Director Tom Calcagni says investigators – posing as the homeowners – invited several unregistered contractors to inspect the damage and give them estimates.

“The results were startling” he says, “our investigators observed people showing up to provide estimates without rulers, without tape measures and other basic equipment you would expect a contractor to rely upon to determine the size of the damaged area, and the quantities of flooring or drywall and other materials needed to make repairs.”

He adds “some people completely overlooked some of the most obvious and troubling damage in the home such as mold-infested drywall, with black mold-spots that were visible to the naked eye, and others ignored warped and water damaged sub-floor- even sections that had holes in it – that you could see straight through to the basement.”

Calcagni says similar situations have been reported in other parts of Jersey, which is why it’s so important that consumers check to make sure home improvement contractors are registered with the state – at  NJConsumerAffairs.gov - which is required by law – before hiring them.