Unlicensed Hamilton contractor sentenced to jail time

(STOCK PHOTO)

A man with a lengthy history of operating as an unliscened roofing contractor in Hamilton has been sentenced to serve jail time.

Jason Dennis was given two years’ probation and ten days in jail for operating without a licence as required by Hamilton’s business licensing by-law.

The conviction stems from an incident with a Hamilton homeowner who hired Dennis in 2013. The victim’s roof was replaced but there were significant deficiencies and the homeowner had to hire another contractor to re-do the roof. Dennis also failed to complete other work agreed to in the contract.

He was convicted at a hearing in 2016.

Officials say Dennis also has a provincial offenses record dating back to 1993 and previous fraud charges with the Hamilton Police.

“The City’s dealings with Mr. Jason Dennis span almost ten years and point to the worst case I’ve seen of an unlicenced contractor. Mr. Dennis has defrauded at least 50 local homeowners out of thousands of dollars for work that was never performed. He capitalized through the home renovation business utilizing the mass market in Hamilton, which includes a large population of senior citizens,” said John Lane, Manager of Building Inspections, City of Hamilton.

Dennis operated under several different business names, including Top Quality Roofing & Renos, Grandview Roofing, Hamilton Regional Roofing, and Roofs R’ Us. He has also used several aliases, including Jay Dawson, Jay Masters, Jay Gagnon and Jay Chambers.