Roofer found guilty of fraud

Judge finds Shane David Smith also reported a crime that didn’t happen

A P.E.I. roofer who reported materials for a job were stolen has been found guilty of fraud and giving police false information that led them to investigate a crime that didn’t happen.

Shane David Smith, 41, appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown on Monday for the third day of a trial on charges of fraud and public mischief.

Those charges related to a job Smith’s company, Friends Roofing and Renovations, was hired to do on a building in Charlottetown.

During the trial, the court heard details of the job that saw the victims give Smith a $4,000 deposit to buy materials for the roof, including metal sheets.

The court heard Smith placed an order for the metal, which he reduced several times without telling the building’s owners.

Evidence presented in court showed Smith initially bought $800 worth of metal for the job.

Smith testified he used surplus materials from previous jobs to make up the rest of what he needed.

The day after Smith started the job in January 2019, he reported metal left at the site was stolen overnight.

Details of the alleged theft were posted on Facebook. Smith also spoke to The Guardian and the CBC to talk about what he said was the theft of 1,200 pounds of metal.

The court heard Smith and one of the building’s owners agreed to split the cost of what he said were replacement materials.

Evidence presented in court showed Smith overcharged the customer for the replacement steel.

During the course of the investigation, the police received a Crime Stoppers tip that led them to start investigating Smith.

The lead investigator testified that information obtained through the investigation suggested the 42 pieces of metal Smith said were taken from the job site had not been stolen.

In her submissions Monday, Crown attorney Lisa Goulden said the victims trusted Smith and didn’t make a lot of demands of him.

“They just wanted a roof done,” she said.

In his decision, Douglas said he didn’t believe Smith used any surplus material on the job.

Douglas also said Smith inflated the cost of any remaining metal he needed to buy to finish the roof.

After reviewing the evidence, Douglas said he found the Crown proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Smith gave false information to the police that caused them to start an investigation into a crime that hadn’t happened.

With the guilty verdict, Douglas adjourned the matter until March 4 for sentencing.