Fake Fire Clean-Up Workers Stealing At Home Sites Busted: Sheriff

SONOMA COUNTY, CA – Two individuals, wearing hard hats and reflective vests, were arrested Monday evening after allegedly posing as fire clean-up contractors while pillaging metal from burned-home sites in the Mark West Springs area, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office.

A resident called authorities to report a suspicious vehicle was in the neighborhood and appeared to be "made up to look like it was affiliated with a company performing clean-up in the burned areas," officials said.

On a private lot, responding deputies found two suspects, Verda Roser, 47 of San Francisco, and Forestville resident Allyn Sullivan, 57, purportedly wearing hard hats and reflective vests and their truck, bearing applied magnetic logos for a fictitious business, loaded with stolen metal and a shovel swiped from one of the sites, the agency said.

"The suspects then were illegally accessing and removing metal from fire survivors burned home sites for profit," deputies said.

Roser and Sullivan were arrested and booked into jail for suspicion of felony grand theft and conspiracy, officials said.

Deputies advised residents and fire survivors that the incident is a reminder that "there are people looking to gain from this tragedy and some will break the law to do so. If you see something that just doesn’t seem right, call law enforcement and report it."

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Photos via Sonoma Sheriff