Two convicted con artists who went to prison for an organized fraud scheme we first uncovered in an 8 On Your Side investigation five years ago are back in the home improvement business.
“The gall of these guys to even come back here and start up again. Which tells me they don’t care what they do or who they do it to,” said Pasco Tax Collector Mike Fasano.
Carlton Dewayne Dunko and Frank Martin Pureber once ran a notorious storm repair insurance scam that gleaned millions from consumers in 11 states through a company called American Shingle.
That was before they moved back to Tampa and operated a similar roofing scam uncovered by us in 2013 under the banner of NBRC Construction.
They both went to prison in 2016 for ripping off nearly 100 NBRC victims in six Tampa Bay area counties for more than $631,000 and are now serving probation.
They’re also working in home renovation sales and marketing for a former associate, Neal Scoppettuolo, who was recently forced out of Pasco County for using “deceitful” mailers to sell roofs to consumers.
Scoppettuolo says he is well aware of Dunko and Pureber’s felon records but insists they have nothing to do with the roofing part of his hame renovation enterprises that he markets as part of the government-sanctioned PACE energy renovation program.
But they do market other PACE products for Scoppettuolo such as air conditioning. We even found Pureber making house calls to consumers with other salesmen in tow.
Both Dunko and Pureber drive expensive late model vehicles and Dunko lives in an exclusive gated Cheval neighborhood, despite owing a fortune to his former victims that he won’t pay off for more than a century at the current rate.
That doesn’t include hundreds of other victims in Missouri and Connecticut where they are still facing legal troubles for their past business practices.
How can two notorious felons get back in the home improvement business after going to prison for fraud?
Wednesday at 5 p.m. on News Channel 8 we’ll dig deep into their past crimes and their current business ventures. See what happens when we come knocking at their door.
