Rebuilding Our Parents' Shattered Dream
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Hello, we are making this go fund me for my mother and step-father, parents of five children. They’re victims of home improvement fraud, and are now out hundreds of thousands of dollars while nearing retirement. Their dreams crushed. Our childhood home destroyed. What was once a place of gathering became a place of horror.
Our mother has owned this house for more than thirty years as a single parent, working three jobs at a time to keep a roof over our head in a quiet, safe, nice neighborhood. As we grew older and left the nest, she wanted a beautiful, slightly more spacious home to make new memories with her grandkids and new blended families.
The hired contractor was recommended, references were checked, insurance was proven (which then was cancelled by the contractor a month after they started unbeknownst to mom and dad), licenses verified, inspections a-go, and zoning permits acquired. Yet, the main contractor was on parole for the exact same thing and used an alias—but was still able to get these things. There were no institutions in place to protect our parents despite what they thought was due diligence. There was no way they, alone, could’ve figured this out. The township, permit office, and licensing entities should’ve been on notice and are meant to protect its residents from this all-too-common crime. The criminal justice and parole system also failed them. These types of crimes need to be stopped.
There is no hope that our parents will ever get this money back from these people, even if they are convicted and owe restitution. Suing civilly is a fool’s errand that will end up costing our parents more money for costs, fees, etc., and to what end? The contractor already owes restitution from past cases in any event! We called the DAs office, the AGs office, and our local state representative and no one has anything positive or helpful to say. And our parents have been reached out to by others who also were defrauded by these people after, or at the same time, that they were also contracting with the builders.
It’s not just us who are affected— neighbors are suffering from this as well. The house decays, the new addition was improperly done and is pulling away from the house, mold grows, the house essentially needs taken apart or will eventually need to be completely razed, interest is accruing on the loans, and our parents are still raising our youngest sister—a teenager in high school who has lost a home to invite friends over to. Retirement is no longer on the horizon. It’s a bleak situation and we are trying to do anything to help them out and bring back a sense of hope.
No matter what, we are a strong family with a steadfast faith in God. We will overcome one way or another. But, if you could be part of that strength and donate anything to this cause, it would be so deeply appreciated by each and every one of the members of our family. All we want is to make it a home again. Thank you for reading. If nothing else, if you pray, please do for us.
Fundraising team (2)
Morgan Harmon
Organizer
Conneaut Lake, PA
Robert Oliver
Team member