A roofer who carried out work without the required insurance and despite not being licensed or qualified to do so has been fined $60,000. 

Mohammad Ali Eshlan and his company Mojo Roofing were found guilty of six offences under the Building Act over work carried out in Whittlesea in Victoria in 2022 

The 32-year-old Dallas man failed to appear at Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court, the Victorian Building Authority said today.

The authority is warning homeowners against hiring unregistered practitioners after it found 34 unregistered workers across 1292 building sites in Victoria.

The court heard a single mother hired Mr Eshlan after he told her he was registered with the VBA, had many years’ experience and would issue a compliance certificate after the job.  

She paid a deposit of $18,500 after he quoted $27,000 to replace her tiled roof with a metal one. During the work, the homeowner noticed issues and had an independent inspection, which confirmed major defects.

She said she installed CCTV cameras at her property after Mr Eshlan became verbally aggressive when she refused to hand over more money.

The victim hired another company to fix the job, which cost $30,000.

VBA commissioner and CEO Anna Cronin says the case is a “heartbreaking example of how wrong things can go. It’s essential consumers check a practitioner’s credentials on the VBA website and make sure you receive a compliance certificate once the work is completed.”