The former majority owner of St. Cloud-based Oberg Roofing and Remodeling faces five felonies for allegedly defrauding customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
According to the criminal complaint, Caleb Oberg took roughly $240,000 from 23 customers between July 2023 and September 2024 to complete services, although he never used a hammer. During this period, suppliers began to cut off the company, and clients began to get lien letters, which are legal claims against their property for unpaid debts to suppliers for materials used in their projects. The corporation began locking its doors during the day so that people seeking information about their project could not enter and confront employees. When they called Oberg Roofing, they were advised to fabricate an explanation for why they received the notice and why their work was incomplete.
The company will officially close its doors in October 2024. The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office reports that in November, it began receiving several complaints from consumers who discovered the business had closed and had already paid for work that had never begun.
Investigators spoke with former staff and Oberg’s business partner, who indicated that he was in charge of sales. He owned 40% of the corporation, and Oberg oversaw all operational decisions. The business partner explained that he advised Oberg in the summer of 2024 to stop taking tasks since they couldn’t complete them. He told deputies that he believes Oberg paid “twice as much” as he should have for their new premises on West St. Germain Street, which caused the company to close.
Oberg Roofing’s bookkeeper told investigators that the company spent a lot of money on consultants and that 2023 was a “slow” year. The bookkeeper also informed Oberg that under Minnesota law, he was required to maintain customer deposits in a separate account. Oberg refused, running the entire company off of a single account and never telling employees to stop selling.
According to court filings, the individual in charge of Oberg Roofing’s accounts receivable informed law authorities that Oberg took out a $750,000 loan in order to obtain supplies to complete tasks. Separately, he took all of the money from customer deposits to cover operational expenses. Oberg sold a corporate truck in January 2024 to pay off a $160,000 Corvette down payment.
Investigators discovered that 44-year-old Oberg departed the state shortly after the business’s closure was revealed in the media and was being sued in civil court. He arrived in Missouri using a burner phone and had registered his automobile under his wife’s name.
On Wednesday, July 9th, Oberg was issued a warrant for five felony fraud counts totaling more than $35,000. On Thursday, July 10th, he was arrested in Christian County, Missouri, and jailed on a $50,000 bond. Stearns County officials are waiting for him to be extradited back to the county to face the accusations.
