Help! Ms. Hildy Got Scammed Badly!
Donation protected
A year ago at this time we were busy putting together a surprise celebration for Hildy Blanco, the angel on earth, who has touched hundreds of lives through M&M. For those who have had children lucky enough to attend M&M or know someone who has, you know that it's no " ordinary childcare!" M&M is a place where dreams are made into reality. Where kids and families grow as one. Where everything is worth celebrating. Where learning happens while you were playing. And where EVERYTHING is wrapped in Ms. Hildy's love.
So, how can someone that Ms. Hildy trusted like family, whose children she raised, who knows firsthand about the M&M magic hurt her and steal more than $50,000 dollars from her?? I keep asking myself that as I listen to Ms. Hildy try find the good.
This saga began last year when Ms. Hlidy had a pipe break that caused her to flood and have to move out for over five months. It seemed like a heaven sent when a parent she knows and loves approached her and said he'd take care of this. Having a business in contracting he knew everything about these situations and Ms. Hildy trusted him to take care of it all. As the days, weeks and months went on there were bumps but he assured her that all was well...and she trusted him. Why wouldn't she?
He was even generous enough to offer his time and energy to take care of the insurance claims and negotiate and handle payment with the mitigation company. Again, she thought "what a blessing" and accepted his offer to take care of all this work that she knew nothing about, and as he instructed she wrote every check she received to him as soon as the insurance sent it to her.
Unfortunately, soon things didn’t add up. As soon as she wrote all the checks out to him, she noticed he stopped all work and went silent. He didn’t answer any calls or messages for months. She soon began receiving calls from the mitigation company stating that no payments had been made and that she was delinquent... she pleaded with them and told them what had happened. She explained she'd given all the money to this man she trusted because he promised he would “take care of everything” because he didn’t want her to “get taken advantage of”. All the while HE was taking advantage of her.
To date he still has over $57,000 of insurance money, $37,000 of which is owed to the mitigation company and the rest was allotted to replace the entire roof, staircase, mailbox, gutters and windows. All of which has to be completed, per the insurance company, within one year.
In the midst of all of this, Ms. Hildy called us parents excited to share that even without the flooring, windows and roof complete she was able to pass her inspection. That meant M & M would be up and running in time for all of her little people who had sorely missed her during the summer months. Parents came together to do cleaning and odd jobs to help assure a smooth opening, but she never shared what was going on behind the scenes both because of respect for the contractor's family and embarrassment of her own. As we swept and sorted, excited about the new school year, she was doing a different type of sorting. She was sorting out when she might get the money that this parent had stolen. As she planned for our kids to come to school the first day, she was also making a plan to payback the $37,000 she owed the mitigation company. While praying nightly that our kids would be safe and that M&M would have another great year, she was also praying that this man's heart would soften and he would meet with her or call her (it had been two months since he spoke to her) and say he had her money.
Here we are. Soon it'll be a year since the pipe broke. There are still jobs to be done and she has collectors calling for the $37,000 they're owed. Ms. Hildy's family has reached out to the police and while they were given hope, the police made it clear that this could take a very long time. They were also told that if found guilty this contractor/parent/friend could face jail time, but if the money was gone they would not be able to retrieve it. We're all hopeful that since we've found other complaints about this man, proving this isn't the first time, he will have to suffer the consequences of his behavior.
Ms. Hildy has been paying weekly but in three weeks she will have nothing else to give. For over 37 years Ms. Hildy has been a known name in Alief, TX. She has trained teachers in Alief ISD, she's raised and loved on numerous children. She's nurtured parents and saved marriages. She's done it all. I ask that you please consider giving to help someone who's given so much. Any amount will help her chip away.
Thanks for your support!
So, how can someone that Ms. Hildy trusted like family, whose children she raised, who knows firsthand about the M&M magic hurt her and steal more than $50,000 dollars from her?? I keep asking myself that as I listen to Ms. Hildy try find the good.
This saga began last year when Ms. Hlidy had a pipe break that caused her to flood and have to move out for over five months. It seemed like a heaven sent when a parent she knows and loves approached her and said he'd take care of this. Having a business in contracting he knew everything about these situations and Ms. Hildy trusted him to take care of it all. As the days, weeks and months went on there were bumps but he assured her that all was well...and she trusted him. Why wouldn't she?
He was even generous enough to offer his time and energy to take care of the insurance claims and negotiate and handle payment with the mitigation company. Again, she thought "what a blessing" and accepted his offer to take care of all this work that she knew nothing about, and as he instructed she wrote every check she received to him as soon as the insurance sent it to her.
Unfortunately, soon things didn’t add up. As soon as she wrote all the checks out to him, she noticed he stopped all work and went silent. He didn’t answer any calls or messages for months. She soon began receiving calls from the mitigation company stating that no payments had been made and that she was delinquent... she pleaded with them and told them what had happened. She explained she'd given all the money to this man she trusted because he promised he would “take care of everything” because he didn’t want her to “get taken advantage of”. All the while HE was taking advantage of her.
To date he still has over $57,000 of insurance money, $37,000 of which is owed to the mitigation company and the rest was allotted to replace the entire roof, staircase, mailbox, gutters and windows. All of which has to be completed, per the insurance company, within one year.
In the midst of all of this, Ms. Hildy called us parents excited to share that even without the flooring, windows and roof complete she was able to pass her inspection. That meant M & M would be up and running in time for all of her little people who had sorely missed her during the summer months. Parents came together to do cleaning and odd jobs to help assure a smooth opening, but she never shared what was going on behind the scenes both because of respect for the contractor's family and embarrassment of her own. As we swept and sorted, excited about the new school year, she was doing a different type of sorting. She was sorting out when she might get the money that this parent had stolen. As she planned for our kids to come to school the first day, she was also making a plan to payback the $37,000 she owed the mitigation company. While praying nightly that our kids would be safe and that M&M would have another great year, she was also praying that this man's heart would soften and he would meet with her or call her (it had been two months since he spoke to her) and say he had her money.
Here we are. Soon it'll be a year since the pipe broke. There are still jobs to be done and she has collectors calling for the $37,000 they're owed. Ms. Hildy's family has reached out to the police and while they were given hope, the police made it clear that this could take a very long time. They were also told that if found guilty this contractor/parent/friend could face jail time, but if the money was gone they would not be able to retrieve it. We're all hopeful that since we've found other complaints about this man, proving this isn't the first time, he will have to suffer the consequences of his behavior.
Ms. Hildy has been paying weekly but in three weeks she will have nothing else to give. For over 37 years Ms. Hildy has been a known name in Alief, TX. She has trained teachers in Alief ISD, she's raised and loved on numerous children. She's nurtured parents and saved marriages. She's done it all. I ask that you please consider giving to help someone who's given so much. Any amount will help her chip away.
Thanks for your support!
Organizer
Ayesha Spooner
Organizer
Mission Bend, TX