Roofer sentenced for fraud

Judge gives Shane David Smith 90 days in jail on two charges

A P.E.I. roofer who was found guilty of defrauding a customer and reporting to police a theft that didn’t happen was sentenced Wednesday to 90 days in jail.

Shane David Smith, 41, appeared before Judge John Douglas in provincial court in Charlottetown for sentencing after he was previously found guilty of fraud and public mischief.

During Crown submissions, lawyer Lisa Goulden told the court the victims put their trust in Smith.

“He took them for a ride,” she said.

Last month, Douglas found Smith guilty after a trial that heard details of a roofing job his company, Friends Roofing and Renovations, was hired to do on a building in Charlottetown.

The court heard the victims gave Smith $4,000 as a deposit to buy materials, including metal sheets.

Smith placed an order for the metal but reduced it several times without telling the building’s owners.

He later testified he used surplus material from previous jobs to make up the difference.

The day after Smith’s company started work on the roof, he reported metal left at the site was stolen.

Smith and one of the building’s owners agreed to split the cost of replacement metal, but evidence presented in court showed Smith overcharged for it.

The police started investigating Smith after receiving a Crime Stoppers tip. The judge found Smith gave false information that caused police to start an investigation into a crime that hadn’t happened.

In her submissions Wednesday, Goulden said there was no indication Smith had any remorse for what he did.

The fraud didn’t involve a large sum of money, but it was serious and had an impact on the victims, Goulden said.

Defence lawyer Alex Dalton told the court Smith is willing to pay restitution and asked to be able to serve any sentence on weekends because he still has a business with employees and jobs to do.

In sentencing Smith, Douglas said the important thing is for Smith and his employees to keep working.

Along with the jail time, which Smith will serve on weekends, he will be on probation for 15 months and must pay $1,125 in restitution.

Douglas also included a condition that Smith have written contracts for any future jobs.

Smith must write apology letters to the victims and the police officer who investigated the theft complaint.