One local woman lost thousands of dollars after a contractor she hired to work on her home, never got the job done.
Ramona Bellard said she lost almost $24,000 after a bad contractor promised to add an addition to her home, but disappeared after collecting money.
Texas Technical Construction is the business accused of committing theft by fraud.
Bellard said the project on her house was supposed to be a four-phase project that would cost a total of $48,000.
"He kept saying oh we're coming we'll be there Wednesday, and Wednesday would come and go," Bellard said.
Aaron Sagel and Mildred Rodriguez ran the company and were caught on the run in Florida.
Both were arrested and extradited back to Central Texas where they now face theft by fraud charges which is a state jail felony.
Detective Ramiro Martinez from The Killeen Police Department is warning other residents on how not to fall prey to these types of scams.
"Basically just do a lot of research before you settle in on something.I know most victims feel like the feel duped they feel bad about themselves and their
sometimes embarrassed to come to the police, however, we encourage them to speak out because without their help we won't know about these type of people in the community," Martinez said.
Bellard said she's unsure of what the outcome of the case will look like but she continues to remain optimistic.
"I am very hopeful that some type of restitution can be made because I am a single mom so I would love love love if I could get a portion of that money back," Bellard said.
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