A Toronto area man is facing a number of criminal charges and civil lawsuits after he allegedly defrauded homeowners and failed to pay his workers while operating under an “alter ego” with at least two different legal names and as many as four contracting companies.
King City, Ont., resident Carmelo Scarola, is currently facing at least three criminal charges and two civil lawsuits in the GTA over a number of alleged fraud-related incidents in the last three years, court documents show.
In September, Scarola was arrested by York police for allegedly defrauding a Newmarket family, he’s entangled in two ongoing civil lawsuits regarding worker compensation, and Toronto police say he’s been named three times in fraud-related reports made to the service in the last two years. Court documents show he’s also facing at least one non-fraud-related criminal charge at Toronto’s Old City Hall.
Scarola may also operate under the name Gaetano, York Regional Police told CTV News Toronto – under which he’s believed to currently be facing six additional criminal charges and three additional lawsuits in the last decade.
Businesses associated with Scarola include Wolf Construction and Renovations Ltd. and the now-inactive Buonna Tile, government registries show. Court documents and a Better Business Bureau complaint filed against Scarola suggest ‘AR Tile and Marble’ and ‘AR Contracting and Tile’ have also been used.
CTV News Toronto has spoken to five alleged victims of Scarola, both homeowners and labourers. Due to safety concerns, they will be quoted anonymously. Collectively, Scarola is alleged to have defrauded or withheld wages totalling more than $100,000 from those interviewed.
“I believe [Scarola’s] project is designed to scam people,” a Greater Toronto Area labourer who alleges they’re owed more than $10,000 by the contractor told CTV News Toronto.
At the time of publication, Scarola has been released
