Jail for New Jersey Roofing Company Head Guilty of Insurance Fraud

The president of a central New Jersey roofing company who admitted avoiding payment of nearly $400,000 in insurance premiums for the firm’s employees is now headed to prison.

Charles Kelcy Pegler Sr. of Spring Lake received a six-month jail term when he was sentenced Friday. He also must 150 hours of community service and pay a $15,000 fine.

The 56-year-old Spring Lake resident is the president of Roof Diagnostics in Wall, which has about 400 employees. He had pleaded guilty in April to insurance fraud.

Authorities have said Pegler provided false and misleading information to the company’s workers’ compensation carrier.

They say that between 2003 and 2009, Pegler stole from the New Jersey Casualty Insurance Company by creating the false impression that the company did not employ roofers and that it did not install, maintain or repair roofs. During that time, the firm was based in Spring Lake Heights.

Because of the falsifications on his application, Pegler avoided paying $265,044 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

Between January and December 2009, Pegler admitted that he created the false impression to another insurer that all the roofing and services offered by his company were performed by subcontractors. With that fraud, Pegler avoided paying $134,087 in general liability insurance premiums.

Pegler has since made restitution to the insurance companies.