LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – “It is nice to know that there is still good people out there,” Barbara Ojito told FOX5 Wednesday, more than a year since her ordeal with an unlicensed home contractor began.
Ojito paid a man she met through church $8,000 to re-work her home and backyard to help her handicapped brother. The job never got done and the unlicensed contractor is currently wanted by police.
After FOX5 reported a couple weeks ago about how she was scammed, a legitimate contractor reached out to us and wanted to help.
“I gave him every penny that I had. It was money that was given to me by my parents before they passed away. This guy got me sick to my stomach because every time I look at it, it is sickening. I have no way of fixing this,” Ojito shared while standing in her backyard.
For Steve Kouba and his crew at Ariat Electric, the electrical repairs inside and outside the home took only a few hours to fix.
“I was watching FOX5. I heard a lady say she got ripped off by a contractor. It hurt my heart and I wanted to come out and take care of her and step up,” Kouba explained. All of their work was completed free of charge for a senior swindled out of her life savings.
“You need to go with a licensed contractor. You see what is happening here. Poor Barbara, she has got to get everything fixed now,” Kouba contended.
Ojito has learned while there are bad people in the world who will take advantage of you, even those met through church, there are also kind people who will give their own time and money to help a stranger in need.
“I love it. I am very happy,” Ojito told Kouba.
“You are welcome, Barbara. We are friends now. We are going to be friends,” Kouba replied.
The Nevada State Contractors Board says Alfred Lagunas is a repeat offender and they want the public to be aware before he can take money from anyone else. Lagunas was supposed to go before a judge on Monday but was a no-show in court.
He is facing up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine. The Nevada State Contractors Board cautions homeowners to only hire a licensed contractor for a home improvement job. That way, if something goes wrong, you can file a complaint and potentially be reimbursed up to $40,000 from their Residential Recovery Fund: http://www.nvcontractorsboard.com/res_fund_overview.html
Before you hire anyone for a job at your home, you should check out a list on the board’s website to make sure you don’t hire any of the people on their top 10 Most Wanted in Southern Nevada: http://www.nvcontractorsboard.com/most_wanted.php
If you have questions for the Nevada State Contractors Board, they can be reached at (702) 486-1100 or www.nscb.nv.gov
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