‘This was my wake-up call’: Richmond Hill victim warns of driveway paving scam

Suspects offer same-day service; main suspect allegedly has strong Irish accent

Yorkregion.com
Aug. 23, 2023
Melissa Wallace

Once again, a group of individuals offering driveway paving services have scammed homeowners out of thousands of dollars this summer.

In July 2022, York Regional Police (YRP) issued a press release after multiple Newmarket residents fell victim to the scam. In most incidents, the victims were approached by a group of people who solicited same-day driveway paving for cash. They said at least one of the suspects had an Irish accent and provided no formal written agreement or contract.

According to the residents who hired the workers, the group leaves the work partially done, stating they will return to finish it, but never do.

That’s exactly what happened to Ron (last name withheld out of safety concerns), a Richmond Hill resident who works in the construction and housing industry, who was allegedly scammed in June.

The suspect, a man who reportedly identified himself as “Chris” and looked to be in his 40s, had a thick Irish accent and was accompanied by a team of younger men, possibly in their 20s, all seeming to speak with Irish accents, Ron said.

Chris said he was from a company called “Innovative Interlocking” and they were doing work for one of his neighbours a few houses down. Chris offered his team’s services to lift and level out the driveway.

“He knew the job,” said Ron. “The way he was explaining things, I thought, ‘OK, this guy is professional, a hardworking guy,’ and I trusted him right away.”

Chris then approached Ron’s next-door neighbour, sharing that they were working steps away and could do both driveways, and was able to convince him to hire him as well.

Half an hour to 45 minutes after starting the job, Chris said he and his team had to leave, but would come back the next day. They never returned. Ron had paid Chris $2,500 cash while his neighbour paid $5,000.

“He fooled my neighbour worse than me,” said Ron. “At first, I thought living in this city, you have to support each other and give each other business, like I have my gardener, my snow plowing guy, and these guys were working in the area, so I thought, ‘Why not?’

“This was my wake-up call. We learn from our mistakes.”

Calls from YorkRegion.com to Chris’ mobile and work phone went directly to a voice mail service that wasn’t set up. The company website and location are fraudulent.

On a social media site, a post referring to the situation generated comments from individuals across York Region and the Greater Toronto Area who were allegedly scammed by them, too, but none responded to media requests. In discussion, the group believes Chris and his workers come to Canada from another country every spring to summer and dupe Canadians out of thousands of dollars for services ranging from interlocking to paving and roofing.

“Even yesterday, Chris texted me and said, ‘I’m in Dublin right now. I’ve got your money. I’m eating out and having fun with it,’ and it made me even more upset,” said Ron, who said he had initially hesitated in using his own trades workers for such a small job, but won’t trust anyone else to do it now.

YRP said their investigation into the scam has been ongoing since July 2022, but there was no significant update.

“At this stage, no charges have been laid, but we encourage anyone with additional information to come forward,” said Const. Laura Nicolle.

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The Ontario Provincial Police of the East Region issued a release on Aug. 15, warning the public of door-to-door paving and repair-related frauds across the province.

“Those involved in these frauds are persuasive and persistent,” read the statement. “Many of the individuals involved in these scams are working without a work permit, have no permanent business address and operate in a fly-by-night manner.”

Anyone with information can contact the York Regional Police #1 District Criminal Investigations Bureau at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7141, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS or leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com.