Some guy is accused of defrauding victims of Katrina to the tune of $500,000

See: Contractor charged with fraud

A local contractor remained jailed Monday after deputies chased him down, tackled him, then charged him with bilking Baldwin County residents out of about $500,000 in a series of construction-related scams targeting the elderly, Hurricane Katrina victims and others.

“He would come in and get some money up front to do some things. Then, when it came time to do it, he would never complete the job or do what he was supposed to do,” Murphy said. “He was very smooth. He was very convincing. He pretty much knew what to say. He would say things like, ‘We’ve got to act fast. I won’t be able to get materials at the prices for much longer.’”

This article was sent to us by Rapleaf member Ben Smith. Ben mentions that while most contractors are very ethical, there are a few bad birds in the pile. To separate the good from the crooks, Ben checks the Rapleaf scores of anyone proposing to do work on his house. Ben has a great Alabama summer vacation home that he rents out and often uses local contractors. Thanks Ben!!