According to local authorities, a 64-year-old Miami man has been taken into custody on charges of posing as a certified roofing contractor and defrauding multiple Miami-Dade County citizens out of approximately $103,000.
Grand theft and an organized plot to deceive are among the charges against John Luis McQueen, who is said to have operated under the names “Jeff Nash” and “Jeffrey McQueen,” according to Local 10 News.
Posing as a licensed contractor, the alleged scammer offered to complete roofing jobs that he was not legally permitted to complete during the state of emergency.
He is accused of failing to finish the work—or, in some cases, even begin it—after accepting payments ranging from $5,450 to $12,900 per victim.
Mcqueen allegedly targeted at least four victims between March 2018 and August 2019, but Miami-Dade police confirmed last Friday that the number has since increased to 13.
Additionally, the suspicious individual was found to have used the credentials of a legitimate contractor on falsified documents in an attempt to further deceive his clients, according to CBS News Miami.
Upon McQueen’s initial court appearance after his arrest on March 27, he was required to post a substantial $250,000 bond. The judge overseeing the case also required McQueen to present proof that the money for the bond was obtained legally.
In one case, a victim of fraud described how she contacted McQueen after he had failed to deliver on his promises, only to find that when she complained, he had left her roof with even more holes and damage than before.
This is an all too common story among McQueen’s other victims, who also reported experiencing similar silence or threats when they tried to get in touch with him.
McQueen, who is being imprisoned at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, is charged with several offenses.
His alleged network of dishonesty even goes outside of Florida, as he is currently the subject of an active arrest warrant from Kentucky for using his brother’s identity fraudulently.
The most recent chapter in McQueen’s story involved a cooperative investigation involving the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources in Miami-Dade, Key Biscayne police, and Hallandale Beach police.
As victims now deal with the consequences of his unfulfilled contracts, the pursuit of justice carries on.
