Nelson is accused of accepting money for roof work he never provided in various jurisdictions, including in West Chester Twp. He allegedly contacted consumers at their homes, claimed their roofs were damaged, and encouraged them to file an insurance claim.
After accepting consumers’ insurance money, he allegedly failed to provide any services in return. Nelson also is accused of damaging consumers’ roofs to create the appearance of storm damage and providing false insurance claim information.
Nelson swindled about $113,000 from 23 homeowners in multiple counties within the greater Cincinnati area between 2014 and 2015, according to investigators.
“When Ohioans are defrauded, we do everything we can to hold the scam artists accountable,” Attorney General DeWine said in a statement. “We believe it’s important to prosecute these cases to protect Ohio consumers.”
An attorney with Attorney General DeWine’s Economic Crimes Unit was appointed as a special prosecutor in the case by the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office.
The case was investigated by Attorney General DeWine’s Economic Crimes Unit with assistance from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Warren County Sheriff’s Office, Ohio Department of Insurance, Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, Colerain Police Department and West Chester Police Department.
In addition to the criminal case, Attorney General DeWine’s office also filed a civil lawsuit against Nelson and his company, American Property Claims Specialists, in May for allegedly violating Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act and Home Solicitation Sales Act.
The case is ongoing.
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