Two Brothers Charged with Chimney Repair Scam

Two Long Island men were arrested Thursday and charged with larceny in connection with chimney cleaning and repairs they did in New Canaan. 

Adam Joyce, 26, and his brother Travis Joyce, 22, both of Babylon, NY, turned themselves in at the New Canaan police department shortly before 7 a.m. after being told there was a warrant for their arrest.

The arrests stemmed from an article in the Stamford Advocate about the brothers' arraignment in Norwalk on charges that they performed $3,200 worth of unnecessary work for a 63-year-old Wilton man. An elderly Village Drive resident read the article and called New Canaan police on April 4, saying she was afraid she had been defrauded by one of the men as well. She told officers that Adam Joyce had charged her $2,800 to clean her chimney but that another chimney company which inspected his work had found numerous problems.

The Village Drive resident later contacted a Stonehenge Drive resident, who had had chimney work performed by Travis Joyce this spring. The Stonehenge Drive resident told police she paid Joyce $3,500 for work on her chimney, which another chimney company later said had been done improperly. 

Adam Joyce was charged with larceny in the second degree from a person over 60, second-degree reckless endangerment, performing home improvements without a certificate of registration, failure to provide notices in sales agreements, making sales illegally without a tax permit, and performing craftsman work without a license.

Travis Joyce faces charges of larceny in the second degree, performing home improvements without a certificate of registration, failure to provide notices in sales agreements, and making sales illegally without a tax permit.

Both men were arraigned Thursday in state Superior Court in Norwalk and released on $5,000 bond. Neither man has yet entered a plea in the New Canaan cases. They plead not guilty to the Wilton charges.