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The contractor I hired stole 20K from me. Is there anything I can do?

ColoradoConstruction ContractPayment Disputes

To whom it may concern, After visiting Durango in October we knew we had to live here one day! As chance would have it, a small cabin in Aspen Trails went on the market right after we left. I closed on my cabin in Aspen Trails on November 24th. My contractor Leo Walcott (Action Enterprises, PO Box 2785, 970-426-9061) was referred to me by my realtor Coral Smith (970-779-8051). He came highly recommended and also lives in Aspen Trails. He began work on November 25th. At the beginning of the work I felt like things were going smoothly. I was pretty upset when he demoed the bathroom without my permission (December 10th) (I had told him before the start I needed to wait until spring) and then pressured me into picking out everything for it without photos or measurements (while he was at Home Depot!) Over the course of renovations (Nov 25th- Dec 22nd) he changed what I had picked out for the floors, hardware, cabinets, counters, backsplash, sink, fans, fireplace rock, lighting, you name it. As time went on he became more and more difficult to communicate with and pressured me for more and more money. (Our original agreement was for around 20-24K.) I sent him $5000 via check through snail mail on November 20th, another $5000 on November 30th, $10,000 on December 3rd. Six days before our arrival (December 17th) he threatened me over the phone that he was going to walk unless I sent him $5500 immediately. I had to venmo his daughter $4000 from myself and $2000 from my fiance. After that he still would not send pictures (I had been asking for ten days now), he said he wanted to surprise me. He got very angry with me on the phone because my realtor went to the cabin to see what was going on (apparently he told her I had not paid him). She sent me a few pictures, but I still had no idea what was going on in the kitchen, bathroom, or fireplace. After our arrival I found that nothing was done as we agreed, it got worse when another neighborhood contractor (John Debbink) found the cracked tiles on the kitchen counters (I paid for four of them, $500 to Andrew. Leo used two and said he broke the other ones and that he taking it out of what I “still owe him”), the plumbing is literally falling apart, ALL of the tilework in the bath and fireplace was/is a mess, the floor heaters that Leo charged me $2400 for were actually installed by John two years prior, the foundation was never leveled, the debris on the property was never removed, the washer/ dryer was not installed correctly, nor was the dishwasher, there is dripped paint down the walls and kitchen cabinets onto the floors along with plenty of missed places, he even installed a medicine cabinet literally behind the vanity lights so it was completely nonfunctional, the plumbing is a disaster, the list goes on and on and on. I have photos and videos documenting everything. But of course, Leo did not take responsibility for anything, in fact, somehow, it was all my fault. He will not give me copies of any of the receipts for materials or appliances. He will not give me an invoice breaking down the cost of labor. Below you will find copies of our email and text correspondence. This is the link to the icloud photo share, it is not very user friendly, I need to fix that somehow. https://www.icloud.com/sharedalbum/#B0i5qsTcwu07PY I am simply looking for restitution and accountability. I spent almost every dime I have investing into my dream home and Leo not only stole and lied to me, he bullied me into choices I did not want to make. It breaks my heart that this man, who not only is a part of the Durango community but also lives in the Aspen Trails neighborhood would do this to me. Thank you for your time, Anne Shackelford

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