Naples family scammed $30K in hurricane repair fraud

Reporter: Zoe Warner
Published: Updated:

Whitney Christy and her family fell victim to a contractor impersonation scheme, losing over $30,000 in supposed hurricane repairs.

“I’m still shocked how big of a scheme it turned into,” said Christy.

Reife Nels Peterson, also known as RJ, was arrested for grand theft in the first degree of over $100,000, impersonating a contractor during a state of emergency, and scheming to defraud by obtaining property worth over $50,000.

“I just can’t wrap my mind around the fact that not only is someone proactively looking to prey on vulnerable people after a crisis like a natural disaster. But they’re planning ahead,” said Christy.

Christy described a series of excuses from Peterson about when her family’s roof would be repaired after Hurricane Ian.

“RJ contacted us and said if you want to be on the schedule for next week, I need $13,000, because we were so desperate to get a new roof before the next hurricane season, we jumped at the chance to wire him the money,” said Christy. “There was no material that was delivered. There were no purchase orders for the material, but yet, allegedly, he was going to have it started on Monday.”

Now, Christy seeks justice over money.

“I learned a very costly lesson,” said Christy. “I want people to learn from my mistakes. I unfortunately trusted the wrong individual when it came to who I should reach out to, what company I should use after a hurricane.”

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