LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A home contractor accused of swindling seniors was arrested this week. Now we are hearing from one of his victims, a disabled vet who is going blind and has been trying to prepare his home now to make it handicap accessible.
The vet refinanced his home to come up with money and paid the contractor, Gabriel Raymundo Adame, $60,000. An investigation into Adame’s company by the Nevada State Contractors Board found that he would consistently charge homeowners massive down payments for home remodeling projects before any work was performed. The work that was performed at vet’s home is nothing short of shocking.
Adrian Pitts is now literally living in a nightmare amidst black mold, plumbing that isn’t connected, and electric that doesn’t work. Pitts took FOX5 on a tour of the chaotic and unsafe place he is forced to call home.
“I got this house for $180,000. I am not going to find a house like this again. I don’t have the money to repair it. I don’t have the money to move. I have just got to live with it,” Pitts explained.
It started three years ago. Pitts says he found Adame Construction for his home remodel. They had good reviews online. Once they started work on his home it was obvious something was very wrong.
“When he started doing the framing, he forgot to put the roof on. He was like, ‘we can’t put the roof on until the steel beam goes in.’ Found out that was a lie…not having the roof, my house started flooding,” Pitts recounted. No part of the job was successfully completed and now with mold remediation, other companies have estimated it will cost up to $300,000 to fix. Now this disabled vet who suffered a traumatic brain injury during his service is trying to fix it himself.
“I am out of money, so I have to do it and it has been hard, and I blame them for it…I have trouble breathing. So, all the mildew and mold and dust, it has been harming my health,” Pitts contended.
Adame’s license was revoked in January, after the Nevada State Contractors Board found him guilty of fraudulent construction activities. They received 21 complaints from customers. Adame was found guilty of stealing more than $250,000 from homeowners.
Under Nevada state law, you should never have to pay a contractor more than 10 percent or $1,000 for a project up front.
Pitts filed a claim with the Nevada State Contractors Board. They have a relief fund for homeowners who have lost money to contractors who do shoddy work or just take money and run. The board awarded Pitts their max, reimbursing $40,000.
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