Two PA Men Caught in “Hail” of a Scheme

Two Bucks County men have been arrested for fabricating “hail” damage on several roofs and then getting the homeowners to inadvertently lie to insurance companies to get their homes repaired, according to the Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office.

Police stated that, Marcin Porzkowski and Dominik Sadowski have been charged with participating in a corrupt organization, conspiring to participating in a corrupt organization, insurance fraud, criminal mischief and theft by deception. Both men are also paid representatives for Precision Builders.

As noted by phillyburbs.com, the arrests are the result of an investigation that dates back to 2009 and contains numerous complaints from homeowners, contractors and insurance industry professionals. The investigation consisted of an undercover sting which found that some employees of Precision Builders would simply pound marks into the roofs of homes to imitate hail damage.

Investigators from the Lehigh County Auto Theft and Insurance Fraud Task Force found Precision Builders was canvassing neighborhoods telling homeowners they could get new siding and roofing at no cost due to hail damage to their homes. Numerous residents said they were not aware of any damage to their homes until the Precision Builders representatives told them their property was damaged. The representatives would tell homeowners the company would cover the cost of their homeowners insurance deductible to allow them to erect a Precision Builders sign in their yard, police said. They also left lists of satisfied customers in the area, though at least one “satisfied customer” didn’t have any contracted work done by the company, according to court records.

Once detectives started to notice patterns emerging, they set up a sting to catch the offenders.

According to court records, an employee from Precision Builders met with an undercover agent at a home in Lower Macungie that was tapped by investigators.

The employee, identified as Ray Stewart in court records, told the undercover agent that if he filed a claim and scheduled an appointment with an adjuster, a Precision Builders inspector would come out before the appointment to mark the “hail” damage for the adjuster, according to court records. The agent told Precision Builders that the adjuster was coming Nov. 12, 2010, and an appointment was made for a Precision Builders inspector to come on Nov. 11.

As records state, two forensic engineers were hired by police to examine the home. Both found no damage to the residence as a result of their examination.

Also noted in court documents, after the Precision Builders inspector was left alone at the home he was kept under surveillance. Police stated that they saw him use a small screwdriver handle covered with tape to make impressions in the siding. When they questioned the inspector, he told them that Sadowski and Porzkowski had told him to imitate hail damage to the home.

According to police, when Investigators spoke with at least two adjusters they denied any insurance claims by homeowners because the “hail damage” was not consistent with a hail storm. Police conducted further surveillance, which led to a discovery in December of Sadowski damaging a Salisbury Township home and then to several wire tapped conversations between Porzkowski and an inspector in which he ordered the inspector to damage homes.

Despite claims from Precision Builders representatives that they do not use subcontractors on their jobs, police noted that Porzkowski was also the owner of Eastern Contracting, which would perform repairs on a set number of homes each month. Police also stated that the Precision Builders representatives would draw up contracts with homeowners and include a clause that homeowners would pay Precision Builders $1,500 if they did not use the company to repair their roof or siding.

Porzkowski is currently being held in Lehigh County prison on $500,000 bail, while Sadowski is in Burlington County prison awaiting extradition.

Court records also show that police have another Precision Builders inspector, Marcin Gradziel, awaiting a preliminary hearing on charges that he damaged three homes in Montgomery County. Please note that these are merely allegations made against the defendants, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.