Seniors Beware of Home Repair Schemes

Rebecca Castell

Contributor

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Homeowners, particularly senior citizens, have been targeted by fraudulent home repair and maintenance companies. Jerry Ponsky, a Bainbridge Township resident, has been charged with numerous counts of bogus home repair agreements and ripping off consumers with fraudulent loans.

Ponsky operated a ring of activity where in

Ponsky and his collaborators would inundate run-down neighborhoods with leaflets advertising "government guaranteed" home-improvement programs for senior citizens, with "no monthly payments" and "no out of pocket expense."

While Ponsky will face certain imprisonment, there certainly is no way that his victims will ever be compensated for their losses. This case emphasizes how any solicitor must be verified with the Better Business Bureau. It also helps to demand references and follow up!

When older people responded to the fliers or Ponsky's television commercials, Ponsky and his collaborators would create inflated appraisals of their homes' value; use those fake appraisals to line up loans from subprime lenders; and then funnel huge chunks of the proceeds to Ponsky, leaving the victims buried in debt. Several lost their homes to foreclosure.