Six Connecticut and Massachusetts homeowners have come forward with similar stories of being scammed by a contractor known as ‘Jason’. The homeowners paid thousands of dollars for work that was never completed or was subpar, and were left with damaged property and unfulfilled warranties.

Pattern of Deceit

Homeowners reported that Jason seemed charming and trustworthy, but would often pressure them into hiring him for expensive repairs. In one instance, a homeowner in Ledyard reported that Jason’s crew began knocking down her chimney before she had agreed to the work.

Another homeowner, Liz Pereira, hired Jason to fix her flooded basement. She said he recommended a French drain and told her she had a crack in her foundation. The contract showed a price of nearly $20,000, but the work was never completed to her satisfaction.

Pereira said she felt frustrated and hopeless by the lack of action by police and state agencies to hold Jason accountable. ‘I believed Ms. Pereira may have fallen for the scam in reference,’ a police officer wrote in a report.

Lack of Accountability

The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) said it pursues unregistered contractors regularly, but has had difficulty tracking down Jason. ‘These groups are very savvy. They reinvent themselves. This is not just a Connecticut problem; it’s a nationwide problem. They move from state to state,’ said Pamela Brown, DCP’s Director of Investigations.

Homeowners have been left to pick up the pieces and try to recover their losses. ‘I felt like I had no choice. I mean, what was I going to do? Have half of a chimney,’ said Jennifer Spezzano, another homeowner who was scammed by Jason.

Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.