Police Arrest Man Accused Of Storm Shutter Fraud

There may be hope for dozens of people who say Andrew Charles Fernald promised to fit their homes with storm shutters, but took their money and blew right out of town.

Melbourne police said the man set up a dozen businesses, all with the purpose of ripping people off. Investigators believe there maybe 100 victims or more who were all waiting to have hurricane shutters put up, but they never got them. For them, Friday was payback.

After the last hurricane, Jacqueline Ferrier thought it would be wise to try and protect the new windows she had installed on the front room of her home. The 80-year-old Melbourne woman said she looked in the phone book and came across a man who would install hurricane shutters for $4,000.

"We never got anything. We gave him half of our money," she said.

Email News Sign-Up Multiple Choices - Auto sign-up (LEFT ALIGN) GET WFTV NEWS HEADLINES BY EMAIL 9 a.m. Headlines Noon Headlines 4 p.m. Headlines News of the Strange Breaking News Alerts Ferrier waited six months, getting the same excuse that the shutter manufacturer was dealing with a terrible backlog on orders. She went to police, which, after receiving complaints from nine other victims in Melbourne alone, set up a sting and arrested Fernald.

Police believe Fernald swindled more than $100,000, mainly out of senior citizens, using 12 different business names. Authorities believe he cheated people from Melbourne, Palm Bay, Vero Beach and Port St. Lucie.

"I hope we have helped a few other people get the ball rolling. It's just not right," Ferrier said.

She thought she did everything right.

"He had a license. Some people are asking, 'What did you give him money for?' Because he looked legitimate. He seemed to be," Ferrier said.

Ferrier filed her own civil lawsuit to try and get her money back. She said that is costing her even more. To top it off, her home and new windows have been left vulnerable to the next storm.

Police said they aren't sure how many victims may be out there, because they believe there could be a number of people who are simply waiting for the hurricane shutters to come in and they don't realize they may not have ever been ordered to begin with.