Wayne County snow plow contractor facing new charges

ROCHESTER, N.Y. A Wayne County snow plow contractor who police say ripped off dozens of people is facing new charges.

News10NBC spoke with state police, the Wayne County Sheriff, and the Better Business Bureau about ways to protect yourself. These are just the latest charges Chad Brockman with Brockman Contracting Services is facing.

The Sheriff tells News10NBC they received four complaints and Brockman is charged on five counts, including scheme to defraud and petit larceny. News10NBC also sat down with state police, who break down the charges he is facing with them.

New York State Police Spokesperson Mark O’Donnell says Brockman showed up once or twice to some of the jobs he was contracted and paid for snow but for others, he never showed up at all, leaving customers high and dry.

“We charged him with 17 counts of fraud to scheme in the first degree, 17 counts to scheme in the second degree and six counts of petit larceny,” O’Donnell said.

O’Donnell says we are dealing with a serial thief here.

“There was over 20 complainants about this individual so it wasn’t by mistake it wasn’t like he forgot,” O’Donnell said. “It was negligent on his part to go out and go out and sell a service that he never intended to provide.”

NYSP and the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office are not the only ones that have received complaints about him. The BBB says it’s been alerted about Brockman and he is on their radar and an investigation is underway.

Here are some tips on how to protect yourself from individuals like this:

• Call around and get multiple quotes from other businesses
• If someone offers you a discount that’s too good to be true, it usually is

“You should never pay upfront!” said Kat Schmieder of the Better Business Bureau. “Like I said, you should always sign a contract and know the exact payment terms. And we would recommend some sort of payment schedule. So you pay part upfront and at the end of a job.”

“Because if you pay somebody up front like that, there’s always the possibility that you never see them again,” Schmieder said.

News10NBC spoke to a gentleman who told me he has known Brockman since the age of 10. He says Brockman ripped off his retired in-laws and hopes he gets jail time.

News10NBC reached out to Brockman who referred us to his lawyer. News10NBC contacted his lawyer but he didn’t return the call. Brockman was issued an appearance ticket and is scheduled to appear at 1 pm April 25 in the town of Ontario Court.