Roofing contractors indicted in Pueblo fraud scheme
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(PUEBLO, Colo.) — A husband and wife have been indicted on 20 counts after a statewide grand jury found there was enough evidence to charge the pair for targeting Pueblo residents in a hail repair fraud scheme in the spring of 2021.
According to Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, the alleged criminal scheme constituted a pattern of activity, in which Kevin Christopher Herrera and Amanda Marie Herrera with Soco Roofing, Inc. would accept insurance payments from their clients for roof replacements or other home repairs and deposit the money into a company bank account, despite no contracted work ever being completed.
Weiser said under Colorado law, insurance funds are supposed to be held in trust for the designated projects, and none of the victims received a refund of their insurance funds. Additionally, several of the fraud victims were older, at-risk Puebloans.
The estimated total losses for all victims named in the indictment amounted to $51,307.
“It is illegal for a contractor to take payments from clients for a project and then fail to complete those projects. Moreover, state law requires contractors to hold the client’s money in a trust and to spend the funds on the client’s project,” said Weiser. “Contractor fraud causes significant harm for the victims and our communities. My office remains committed to ensuring that the defendants involved in this alleged criminal fraud scheme are held fully accountable for their actions.”
If you believe you might be the victim of contractor fraud, file a complaint with the Colorado Attorney General’s Office and contact your local police department. For more information on how to detect and avoid becoming a victim of contractor fraud, visit StopFraudColorado.gov.
The Herreras are charged with racketeering and conspiracy under the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act, both class 2 felonies; felony theft, including theft against an at-risk person; felony tax evasion; and failure to file a tax return or pay tax, a misdemeanor.
Both Kevin and Amanda Herrera are out on bond and scheduled to appear in court on May 28.
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