The flier left hanging on her front door was perfectly timed.
Just one day earlier, Liz Pereira had discovered water seeping into the basement of her Millbury, Massachusetts, home. The leak had damaged drywall and soaked her daughter’s belongings.
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According to the advertisement from Landmark Masonry and Construction, the business had 25 years of experience and boasted positive online reviews.
Pereira gave the business a call. Before long, a man who identified himself as the owner, Jason Carpenter, was at her house to assess the project.
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“He was super charming and super professional,” Pereira recalled.
The contractor quoted $20,000 to have a French drain installed to divert water away from the property.
After making the first payment, Pereira said the project quickly began and workers spent several days hand-digging around the foundation.
Once the final payment was made in early January, Pereira said she received an assurance the work was guaranteed for 25 years. That promise was immediately put to the test.
“The next morning, I go downstairs and I have water in the basement,” Pereira said. “That’s when I’m thinking I got scammed.”
Her suspicions grew stronger as the dirt gave way around her foundation and cement slab holding the air condition unit buckled and sunk into the ground.
Then, she searched online and found our “To Catch a Contractor” coverage of the coordinated transnational scheme known as the traveling conmen.
“I saw your story and my reaction was, ‘I’m one of those victims,’” Pereira said. “It’s devastating because I’m a single mom. I just went through breast cancer. You know, I’m just trying to pick up the pieces and they scam me out of $20,000. That’s a lot of money for me.”
Add Pereira to the growing list of people duped by the sophisticated scammers with ties to Ireland and the U.K.
We’ve already told you about the Malden couple left with $60,000 damage to their homes foundation, the elderly Maynard homeowner who paid more than $100,000 on what should’ve been a simple roof job and the structural engineer who was impersonated to make an expensive repair seem legitimate.
More on the traveling conmen scam
Emails from other victims are seemingly coming into our investigative team on a daily basis.
Have a tip for the NBC10 Investigators? Email us at tips@nbcboston.com.
“These groups are making a lot of money off the public. It’s in the millions that they’re making,” said Watertown Police Officer Frank Forde.
A police officer from Ireland's perspective on the traveling conmen: 'I take it personally'
Forde is a third-generation law enforcement officer who joined the force in Watertown after moving to Massachusetts from Ireland.
He told us the scammers are extremely charismatic to build consumer trust and appear legitimate by creating websites, wearing company shirts, plastering company logos on vehicles, and crafting fake reviews to post on Google and Yelp.
Once complaints start to surface online, Forde said the scammers will quickly switch to a new company name so they can continue to funnel stolen funds overseas.
As we previously told you, Homeland Security Investigations is busy trying to track the stolen money and increasing activity around New England.
“I take it personally as an Irishman,” Forde said. “Because it makes our reputation bad. And there’s honest Irish people out there doing good work.”
Police say it’s essential homeowners report incidents to law enforcement so they can connect the cases in different communities. One of the men accused of ripping off the elderly homeowner in Maynard was recently deported to Ireland because he was wanted for crimes in his home country.
'I just want people to be aware that they’re scamming a lot of people'
After growing suspicious of the work at her property, Pereira contacted Millbury police.
The town’s building inspector has since checked out the work and determined it was done improperly without the required permit. It’s unclear if any drainage was installed beneath the dirt, according to the inspector, who characterized the work as a “moat” around Pereira’s home.
Det. Andrea Warpula said her department will be pursuing criminal charges.
We tried to reach Carpenter, but the phone number listed for Landmark Masonry and Construction had a voicemail box that was full. Nobody has responded to an email inquiry sent to the business.
A search of state records did not reveal a construction supervisor license or home improvement contractor registration associated with him or the company.
During an online search, we found a five-star Google review for another business called Countywide Masonry & Waterproofing that had photos displaying a trench dug around Pereira’s home.
“Really happy with the work carried out,” the review written by user “jasoncarp12” said. “Will definitely hire again highly recommend.”
Given what she’s learned about the widespread scheme, Pereira is not optimistic she will ever see the thousands of dollars in savings she lost. However, she wanted to speak publicly to alert other potential victims.
“I just want people to be aware that they’re scamming a lot of people,” she said.
