5 Florida roofing contractors arrested for insurance fraud, other crimes
At least five Florida roofing company employees have recently been arrested for defrauding insurance companies.
Since Nov. 30, 2023, five Floridians employed by roofing contractors were arrested for their involvement in various, and at times unrelated, insurance fraud schemes, according to the state’s department of financial services.
On Nov. 30, Paul Vautour, former vice president of sales for Castle Roofing Co., along with three employees, were arrested for “intentionally and schematically” causing damage to roofs in order to file insurance claims. The scheme ran from September 2019-October 2020, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS).
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. became suspicious of Castle’s claims and began an internal review, which revealed a pattern of damage that was consistent with fabricated damage. Video evidence of a Castle employee damaging a roof, which was later claimed to be weather related, also came to light.
Based on Citizen’s investigation, DFS started an independent criminal investigation and found that Vautour was allegedly training employees to fabricate roof damage.
The four are facing charges ranging from grant theft and criminal use of personal ID to insurance fraud and aggravated white collar crime, according to DFS.
Subcontracting at lower costs
In an unrelated case, Ricky McGraw, owner of SFR Services, was arrested for insurance fraud and grand theft after allegedly inflating and overbilling a roof replacement claim filed with Tower Hill Insurance Co. DFS reported that the scheme netted McGraw $214,000.
In August 2019, Rookery Pointe Homeowners Association contracted with SFR Services to have several tile roofs replaced in the community’s common area following Hurricane Irma. As part of that agreement, the homeowners association signed an assignment of benefits with McGraw’s SFR Services.
McGraw then hired his brother, Matthew McGraw of Elite Claims Consultants, to serve as the public adjuster for the claim, according to DFS. Elite Claims estimated that the repairs would cost more than $314,800 and demanded payment from Tower Hill on behalf of SFR.
In March 2020, SFR Services hired a subcontractor to replace the same roofs in Rookery Point for $99,000, DFS reported.
In addition, Ricky McGraw signed a sworn statement in proof of loss that attested to the validity of the $314,828 estimate. About two weeks before signing that document McGraw subcontracted the job to Castilla Roofing. The insurance company and other appraisers repeatedly asked McGraw for any subcontractor estimates, but he refused to hand them over.
Ricky McGraw faces up to 60 years in prison if he is convicted on the charges of insurance fraud and grand theft.
The annual cost of insurance fraud shouldered by U.S. consumers and businesses is more than $308 billion, according to the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud.
Related: