Two men are facing charges related to a fraudulent contracting business they allegedly operated in Lower Merion, police say.
Jake Fox, 37, and Scott Bradley, 34, were arrested on Thursday and face multiple charges, including receiving advance payment for services and failing to perform, violating Pennsylvania’s racketeering statute, and resisting arrest. Fox was also charged with a number of driving violations, including reckless driving and fleeing a law enforcement officer.
The men were arrested after Lower Merion homeowners alerted law enforcement that they had been engaging with suspicious contractors, Lt. Michael Keenan said.
The contractors’ work was “suspicious and incomplete” and the men were “hounding” the homeowners for money, according to Keenan. Lower Merion police officers arrested the two men on March 12 while they were at a resident’s home.
Keenan said the pair “did not stop initially for police” and were “taken into custody a short distance later.”
Police are continuing their investigation into other potential victims of Fox and Bradley and are urging those who believe they were victims of contractor fraud by the men to email contractorfraud@lowermerion.org.
Police say Fox and Bradley operated under the business name PJS Paving & Masonry Corp. The men may have also been using the names Orchard Paving and Perfect Paving LLC, which have been associated with fraudulent business practices, police wrote in a social media post.
Officials believe the men are European and were born Patrick and Johnny Joseph Quinn before changing their names prior to entering the U.S. Police have yet to confirm their identities and believe they may have used multiple names.
Scott’s home address is listed as Richmond Hill, a neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., in court records. Fox’s address is listed as Pennsylvania, with no municipality specified.
Neither man posted bail, which was set at $99,000 each, and both were being held at the Montgomery County prison in Eagleville.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for March 25 at 10 a.m.
The Lower Merion Police Department has conducted several investigations into high-dollar fraud schemes involving fake contracting businesses in the last year, Keenan said.
Keenan encouraged residents to be vigilant when working with contractors. Always read real reviews and seek out multiple bids, he said. Residents should be wary of contractors who fail to provide an itemized list of charges for work, who suddenly raise their prices, or who go door-to-door trying to solicit work, Keenan added.
Any contractor who performs at least $5,000 worth of home improvements per year must register with the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. Keenan urged residents to check a contractor’s state registration before signing up for a home improvement project.
“Nobody comes to your door and offers to do work for you and then points out all of these things that are wrong with your home,” Keenan said, adding that residents should “never be rushed to make an expensive decision.”
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