Alleged roofing scammers appear in court

Two British men, arrested on fraud charges following a series of alleged roofing scams in Auckland, will keep their names secret for now.

The pair appeared in the Auckland District Court via video link from the Whanganui District Court in front of Judge Claire Ryan yesterday.

The British pair, aged 27 and 30, spent the weekend in custody after appearing at the Whanganui District Court on Friday. Both allegedly committed $23,800 of fraud together between December 10 and 28, while the older man is further accused of obtaining another $1000 by deception on January 16.

The pair were granted interim name suppression by Justice of the Peace Jim O’neill in Whanganui. That was continued by Judge Ryan yesterday.

The pair’s lawyer, Anoushka Bloem, told Judge Ryan that further charges were pending and argued for further name suppression on that basis. The police prosecutor opposed continuation of name suppression on the basis of more potential victims coming forward if the pairs’ names were in the public arena.

The men were remanded to Whanganui Prison to appear via audio visual link on February 14.

Two other British men have warrants out for their arrest in relation to the same alleged offending. On Friday, police appealed for information on Tommy Ward and William Donohue. They were recently seen in the Whanganui area and were believed to be travelling in a silver Volvo SUV.