A Philadelphia man is accused of taking advantage of a blind couple in Bryn Mawr by misrepresenting repair work he did at their home this summer and overbilling them for materials he purchased, Haverford Township police said.
Joseph Tell, 66, surrendered to authorities Tuesday and is facing charges after the couple filed a fraud report with police in September. Court records show Tell is charged with felony counts of deceptive business practices, theft by deception and making false statements to induce agreement for home improvement services.
The homeowners — a blind couple in their 70s — told Haverford police they spent more than $60,000 to complete three projects at their home on Drayton Road. Tell allegedly had contacted the couple to promote his services under a company called Keystone Building Repair. The initial work included fixing a hole under their kitchen floor, replacing and painting part of the kitchen ceiling, and fixing a railing on their back steps.
During the fraud investigation, Haverford detectives discovered that Tell's business did not hold the state's required registration for home improvement work, according to a criminal complaint obtained by the Delaware County Daily Times. The program overseen by the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General has been mandatory since 2008, when the state passed the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act.
While completing the initial repairs, Tell allegedly told the homeowners there was additional work needed and wrote out proposals to install a new wall-mounted phone, resurface the basement floor, wrap pipes for energy efficiency, and make other repairs in the kitchen. Tell also allegedly told the couple that a handrail in their home appeared to violate building code because it was loose.
In multiple instances, police said Tell provided the couple with inflated bills for materials needed to complete the work.
On the project to replace the phone, Tell allegedly billed the couple $8,400 for a VTECH phone that authorities said was listed online for $24.89 and only required one screw to install.
To wrap pipes in the basement, Tell billed the couple $1,200 despite there being no sign that the work was done, police said. And although the basement floor and walls had been painted, authorities said furniture and other property stored in the basement was missing.
When police inspected the home, they said much of the work Tell had completed was sloppy — including uneven paint jobs and a sinking portion of the kitchen floor where a hole was supposed to be fixed. Tell also billed the couple $2,500 for a pair of bar stools he claimed to have purchased in Philadelphia, but failed to provide a receipt. The dented and scratched stools were found listed on Amazon for $120 a pair, police said.
A building code inspector also told investigators that the handrail in the home did not violate any regulations.
At his arraignment hearing on Tuesday, District Justice Elysia Mancini Duerr set Tell's bail at $60,000. He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for Dec. 13. Court documents list Tell's attorney as Eugene Bonner.
