Huntington Beach Police Warn Residents of Roof-Repair Scam

Police are warning residents about a home-repair scam after two men, posing as roofers, conned an 85-year-old woman into thinking that her trailer park home needed $950 worth of roof repairs, authorities said Thursday.

Police Lt. Charles Poe said the men told the woman Tuesday that her roof would leak during the next storm. The pair told the woman they were applying fiberglass but instead sprayed the roof with an unknown black substance resembling motor oil, he said. The woman wrote a $950 check for the service, Poe added. The check was cashed minutes later.

The suspects are described as white and in their mid-30s to 40s, Poe said. They were driving a new white van with a spray machine inside.

Police asked that anyone who has information regarding this case or feels that he or she has been a victim of this type of crime to call the Huntington Beach Police Department at (714) 960-8811.