Logan County Authorities Warn Residents Of Home Repair Fraud

Investigators in Logan County said they busted a group of repairmen who prey on the elderly. The Sheriff's office knows of at least three victims, and detectives think there may be more.

Two of the repair victims live in the Marshall area, and one of them said the scammers actually made his roof worse.

“Mad at myself,” said Marshall Resident Donnie Streck.

Streck is sick he was so trusting. “I really thought I could tell a scammer, that one got me”.

Streck hired men to repair the roof of his building for $5,000. He said after the men were done, they tried to raise the price to $10,100. Streck only paid them the $5,000 agreed upon and when he checked the roof, he said all they had basically done was spray-paint it.

“They know what they're doing, they are real smooth talkers,” he told News 9.

A 90-year-old woman in Marshall also paid the men $7,000 for repair work that investigators said would not have passed any inspection of any kind.

In some cases, investigators said the men poured a gasoline mixture onto roofs or lightning ground wires.

“These gentlemen are just driving through the county going up to miscellaneous homes and asking if the people would like for some repair work to be done,” said Detective Greg Valencia with the Logan County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators said the men are two sets of brothers who worked the Marshall area for at least three weeks.

Deputies arrested Bartley Gorman and John Carroll after they said the men confessed to overcharging and charging for repairs they did not do. The men have since bonded out of the Logan County Jail.

Now, deputies are looking for Sean Gorman and James Carroll for questioning.

4/1/15 Related Story: Logan Co. Deputies Arrest Two In Connection To Home Repair Fraud

Streck said the whole town of Marshall is like family and he is angry over what the men did.

“What would you do if someone had done that to your mother or grandmother,” Streck said about what he would say to the scammers. “What would you feel like? That's what hurt me,” he added.

Investigators are asking anyone who may have done business with D&G General Contracting, J Carroll Asphalt, or with any of the four men to please call the Logan County Sheriff's Office at 405-282-4100.

This is a good reminder that if you are getting repair work done, call the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board and verify the business.