ELBERT COUNTY, Colo. — On the wind-blown Japanese Plains in Elbert County, the Melnyk household by no means deliberate to dwell long-term in an RV.
“We prefer it out right here as a result of it is peaceable,” stated Amanda Melnyk, who added it has been two years since a home fireplace displaced her household.
“I referred to as 911, however all I might do was simply watch the home burn,” she stated.
Melnyk stated her insurance coverage agent linked them to an organization referred to as Harm Restorations to assist them rebuild their residence. Melnyk employed the corporate in the summertime of 2021.
With their insurance coverage cash, she paid the corporate and a person who referred to as himself Blake Brown about $300,000 in all.
The corporate began the job, working sporadically for the previous two years, demolishing the burned-out residence and ending many of the exterior earlier than disappearing with the ultimate $88,000 fee.
“We purchased the RV as a result of we have now animals with the understanding that it will solely take a 12 months. And right here we’re two years later and nonetheless dwelling on this RV,” stated Melnyk. “We will not dwell in our residence. It is solely 65% completed.”
It seems the individual Melnyk met with was not named Blake Brown, however Randall Blake Copeland, a person who was making headlines in Indiana. Police information obtained by Contact Denver7 present Copland was arrested for “a string of development frauds,” most of which got here to mild in 2019.
Harm Performed: Harm restoration contractor accused of fraud in Indiana, Colorado
He is confronted a number of costs and is presently within the Boone County jail till subsequent month as he serves out a sentence. As soon as launched, he’s slated to be picked up by Vermillion County in Indiana to serve time there, in keeping with a Boone County spokesperson.
However whereas he wasn’t coping with authorized points in Indiana, paperwork present that he was trying to find new shoppers in Colorado.
During the last two years, he has been in jail on and off in Indiana on varied circumstances, however whereas he was out, paperwork present he was discovering new shoppers in Colorado.
Detectives in Fort Rock, Arapahoe County and Elbert County have confirmed they’re investigating Copeland and the corporate and whether or not others are concerned.
Melnyk’s story sounds very acquainted to Ashley and Alex Schultz. They paid Harm Restorations roughly $70,000 after their residence flooded, however a job that was purported to take every week has hundreds of {dollars} in work unfinished after a 12 months and a half.
“He was excellent at like that candy southern attraction. That is what pulled the wool proper over my eyes,” Ashley Shultz stated of Copeland. “The sample can be he would disappear for weeks, then are available in and simply work, work, work, work, after which disappear for weeks.”
Harm Restorations didn’t reply to cellphone calls or emails searching for a response. A door knock to the listed tackle, a home, was answered by a person who stated he was a canine sitter and was coping with the fallout of consumers displaying as much as search refunds.
Whereas Melnyk waits for the felony investigations, her house is unlivable. She stated they’re operating out of cash and out of time.
Her teenage son moved out of the RV to dwell with a good friend till the home is completed.
“There’s not going to be a home. How am I supposed to inform [my children] that? There’s simply not that cash,” Melnyk stated. “I imply, we have now a home. We simply want it finished.”
Contact Denver7 has a number of ideas to assist shoppers defend themselves from a felony contractor:
- Do not simply belief Google opinions, examine on-line for crimson flags and patterns.
- Learn how lengthy the corporate has been in enterprise. The Secretary of State reveals Harm Restorations began in 2021.
- Examine for your self in the event that they’re licensed in your nation (Harm Restorations just isn’t licensed in Arapahoe County)
- Do not simply ask for references — actually discuss to different clients.
- Withhold the ultimate fee till the job is totally completed and you’ve got finished a full walk-through.
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