Woman ‘loses $153k paying contractor for work he never completed’ – she made 911 call a year later & learned the truth
AN ELDERLY woman claims to have been scammed out of thousands of dollars by a man who promised to rebuild her house after a fire decimated it.
The Ohio woman said she trusted contractor Tyrelle Lawrence to fix her home but alleges that he bought a bar instead of using the money to build her house.
13 ABCA contractor allegedly scammed an elderly woman out of $153,000[/caption]
13 ABCThe woman had asked the man for help rebuilding her home after it was devastated by a fire[/caption]
13 ABCTyrelle Lawrence was arrested for allegedly stealing the woman’s money to buy a bar[/caption]
13 ABCLawrence said his bar has nothing to do with the legal matters[/caption]
The 74-year-old woman called the police to report Lawrence, saying that she’d been waiting for him to fix the home for over one year, local ABC affiliate WTVG reported.
“I had a house and the house caught on fire, and this contractor said that he can put it together and I’ve been waiting patiently for a year for him to do something,” she said in the 9-1-1 call.
“I believe I’ve been scammed.”
The caller told police she paid the contractor $153,000, to which the phone operator simply replied: “Oh ma’am.”
The woman told law enforcement that the work was meant to be done by December 2023, but over one year later, nothing was finished.
Court documents show a check made out to Bankroll Housing CFN, a business run by Lawrence.
The contractor allegedly used the money to buy the Upscale Bar and Lounge, but Lawrence denies all allegations.
“If you know me, you know my character not to take from nobody, especially not an older person,” said Lawrence.
Lawrence claims that his bar has nothing to do with the elderly woman’s home.
“I still got the money,” he said.
“I still have my funds that I have to do the work. I still went in the house and did the work.”
The contractor said he put a roof on the home, wired it for new electricity, and gutted the damaged inside.
Lawrence alleges that he had a contract with the woman’s nephew, not with the woman herself.
Although he maintains his innocence, police arrested him for allegedly scamming the woman of her money.
The elderly woman shared that she wants her home torn down while legal matters are still being settled.
SCAM ON THE RISE
One woman lost $255,000 after believing she had found her dream home with her partner.
Bank tips for avoiding scams
As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:
Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.
Source: Chase.com
West Virginia resident Raegan Bartlo and her husband were contacted via email to wire money for a closing deal on their brand new home.
Bartlo quickly followed the instructions and wired her life savings to this unknown sender, only to receive a message on her closing day that the closing time was moved.
The new homeowner was confused, given that she had already paid the money, but she soon realized that fraudsters had requested that she wire the funds.
“At that point my whole world fell apart because I had already wired all of the down payment money for our house,” she told ABC affiliate WJLA earlier this year.
“And that was about $255,000. And so our nest egg, our savings, everything at that moment was gone.”
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