Fake contractor takes off with $15K from Queen Creek homeowner
QUEEN CREEK, AZ (AZFamily) — Chris Dunham has a large property and wanted to share it with his daughter and 5-year-old grandson.
“So, this is a full acre out here?” On Your Side’s Gary Harper asked Chris outside. “Yep, full acre. Horse property,” he replied.
Four years ago, he built a 1,300-square-foot addition to his home so his daughter and grandson could live and be near him. Chris says the addition was done so well that it blends in with the original part of the home. “You can’t even tell where the addition starts,” he said.
But recently, Chris decided to widen the sidewalk near the addition and build a wrap-around covered patio to help protect the add-on from the sun and other elements. He said, “The concept is, you know, when it does rain, there’s really no cover for that.”
Chris hired a company called Lugo Construct, run by Fidel Lugo. “He totally seemed competent. He answered all the right questions. He had two different estimates based on what we discussed.”
Chris says he felt comfortable giving Fidel Lugo money in advance to start the project. But Fidel kept asking for more money, and Chris kept forwarding electronic payments and writing checks.
“How much money have you given him to date?” Harper asked. Chris replied, “$15,000.” The entire project comes to $20,000, so Chris says he’s already paid for it.
But then, the excuses started flying from Fidel, including him not showing up anymore, Chris said. “I have no idea what his deal is. He claims that he got robbed. He claims that all his equipment got stolen. He claims that a lot of his workers got deported.”
On Your Side discovered Fidel is unlicensed with Arizona’s contracting board, the Registrar of Contractors, which is required by law. But he’s also an ex-con who spent four years in prison.
On Your Side showed Fidel’s mugshot to Chris, who was surprised. “Never would have hired somebody like that,” he said. “Absolutely not, especially with my grandkid around. I just don’t need a felon on my property.”
On Your Side tried contacting Fidel, but his voicemail was always full. However, after a week, he finally wrote me an email acknowledging he was unlicensed and saying, “If that’s the case, it will unfortunately necessitate a further postponement as I am committed to operating within the bounds of the law.”
But what about the $15,000 he took from Chris? Well, he didn’t say anything about that. But he did claim On Your Side was trying, “to tarnish my reputation.”
Chris says he can’t believe the situation he’s found himself in. “So we’re looking at $15,000 worth of work right here,” Harper said as they both looked at cement footers that took less than an hour to put in. “This is what I paid $15,000 for,” he replied, looking down at the footers.
The Arizona Registrar of Contractors has been contacted, and an investigator has been assigned to Chris’ case. On Your Side will continue to follow this story and will let you know when there’s an update.
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