Cowboy roofer dodges prison

A cowboy roofing contractor scammed over $100,000 to bankroll his gambling high life. Macaulay Oliver Marchant, 25, has narrowly avoided jail for his dodgy roofing practices that ripped off 11 clients in Auckland, Christchurch, rural Canterbury, Mosgiel, Marlborough Sounds and the Wairarapa between December 2018 and February last year.

“Mac” Marchant set up a limited liability company called Essential Roofing in August 2017.

But within 18 months it had gone broke and left a trail of misery behind. Essential Roofing never had a bank account, was not registered for GST, and did not file any GST, PAYE or income tax returns.

Instead, Marchant used its money “as his own personal spending money”, according to court documents. He blew $60,000 at the TAB, casinos, and Christchurch’s Cashmere Club. Thousands more went to bars, nightclubs, dining out and travel. Meanwhile, he was “routinely” telling his customers he couldn’t complete the work agreed on, and paid for, due to being “snowed under, short-staffed, or unfavourable weather conditions”. “Yet, after giving these excuses to one complainant, [Marchant] would accept a new job and payment from the next complainant,” the Crown summary of facts says.

Justine Smith of New Windsor, Auckland, was one of those scammed. She ended up putting $13,050 into Marchant’s bank account but despite assurances nobody came. “It was a bit of a nightmare, just glad it’s all over now,” she said yesterday. Judge Tom Gilbert last week sentenced Marchant to 11 months’ home detention at a Bucklands Beach property, with an order to pay back the money over time.