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Police: Chandler men arrested after seniors defrauded across the Valley

Posted at 12:10 PM, Feb 14, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-14 20:32:20-05

Two Chandler men hired to make home improvements were arrested after defrauding senior adults out of thousands of dollars.

Police report that in August 2016 they focused an investigation on two men, 42-year-old Peter Toogood and 44-year-old Alexander Gregg. They say these two men targeted senior adults for roof repairs and other home improvements. 

Police found all of their victims to be over 80 years old. One of the men would introduce himself as the son of a roofer that did work on the house several years earlier. He would then get permission to do a roof inspection. When he returned, he would show photos to the victims of "roof damage." The victim would then allegedly be pressured into making a quick decision about repairs.

Inspections done later would reveal that little or no work was actually done to the roofs and work that was done was subpar.

Police say the men traveled all over the Valley from Sun City to Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa and Leisure World.

They also reportedly used a sophisticated process to cash the checks and receive their money. Police found deposits of over $190,000 from August to December.

Both men have prior convictions and ties to the "Irish Travelers," a group that has been associated with this type of fraud in Arizona and other states.

Gregg and Toogood have been charged with multiple counts of fraudulent schemes.