OGDEN — Police have arrested an Ogden man on charges of defrauding homeowners in Roy and other communities on uncompleted roofing projects, and investigators are asking additional suspected victims to come forward.

The Weber County Sheriff’s Office, the Roy Police Department and authorities in Davis County have investigations involving Anthony Tobias Aguilar, 55, based on reports of roofing or other home projects abandoned after the customers made significant down payments.

Aguilar faces three criminal cases so far in 2nd District Court, each accusing him of second-degree felony communications fraud and class A misdemeanor contracting without a license.

In a social media post Thursday, the sheriff’s office urged people who may have been victimized by Aguilar to contact nonemergency dispatch at 801 395-8221 or the police department where they live. “We believe (Aguilar) has other victims who have either not made a report or have been told it is a civil issue,” the sheriff’s office said.

In the cases under investigation so far, Aguilar and a customer entered into a signed contract for roofing or other work. He would take a down payment, then do some work but allegedly not complete it or provide a refund.

A probable cause statement filed in court by the sheriff’s office said sheriff’s investigators have seven cases on Aguilar, Roy police have at least two and police agencies in Davis County have others.

“Our detectives were able to show a pattern of fraudulent activity of taking money from people with the intention of not completing the work,” Lt. Colby Ryan, sheriff’s office spokesperson, said Friday.

According to charging documents in the sheriff’s case, a customer contracted with Aguilar for a $5,000 roofing job, which was completed satisfactorily. The customer then contracted to have a deck rebuilt and a tree cut down. The quoted price was for $5,000 and the customer paid $4,000 down. Aguilar brought over some materials but allegedly did not do any work and told the customer the cost would be $10,000.

In a Roy case, a customer reported that he paid Aguilar $6,000 down on a $10,000 roof job, but he allegedly did no more work after tearing off about one third of the roof. Another Roy customer described in a second criminal case that Aguilar allegedly collected $7,600 for a roofing project. He completed about 60% of the work but allegedly never returned to finish and ignored attempts to be contacted.

The sheriff’s office said it began its investigations after the Utah Division of Professional Licensing reported to police that it had numerous, similar complaints about Aguilar. A check of UDOPL records on Friday showed no contractor license for Anthony Aguilar.

Ryan suggested that consumers do some research before hiring contractors. Methods include internet searches and checking with the Better Business Bureau and UDOPL. “Also request to see a contractor’s license,” he said.

Ryan said several more people had come forward by Friday with reports of problematic dealings with Aguilar. He said sheriff’s detectives are coordinating with their counterparts in other local police agencies involved.

Aguilar was freed from the Weber County Jail after posting $2,500 bond. But in a detention hearing on Wednesday, Judge Jennifer Valencia ordered the man held without bail and told him to report to jail the day after Christmas.

Ryan said disputes with contractors rise to a criminal level when authorities find intent to defraud and a pattern to the activity. “If it’s just a disagreement between a contractor and a homeowner who’s not happy with the work and something’s not right, it’s a civil matter,” he said.

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