Fraud Suspect Worked For Elmhurst Firm: Cops

Elmhurst IL

06 August, 2021

8:40 AM

Description

ELMHURST, IL — A man who fraudulently accepted $2,000 from an Elmhurst family on the promise that he would replace windows worked for an Elmhurst company, police said. Now, police are seeking to arrest the man. He is a former employee of Absolute Exteriors, 116 S. York St., according to a police report obtained through a public records request. In mid-March, the family, who live in the 300 block of East Cayuga Avenue, contacted Absolute Exteriors to get their roof fixed. They spoke with the owner, who sent an employee to give an estimate, which was $500. The man finished the roof near the end of March. After that, he gave them an estimate to replace windows and required $2,000 for deposit, police said. The family paid the money through the Venmo money transfer app. But the work did not get done, police said. The family kept getting excuses for why that was the case, with the man stopping all communication in mid-July, according to the report. The family called Absolute Exteriors, and they were told that the man no longer worked there and that he had a falling out with the owner. The owner told them that he didn't know anything about a window deposit, police said. The family then emailed the estimate document to the owner, who then pointed out that it was not on his company's letterhead, the police report said. He said the man had done business on the side before without his knowledge, police said. In an interview with police, the owner said the employee only worked for him for a short time. His work became unsatisfactory, so he was fired in mid-May, police said. After the firing, the owner received calls from customers who claimed the man took money from them for jobs he never completed, the report said. The owner said the jobs were a couple of hundred dollars each, so he did the work and wrote up the jobs as a loss, police said. The owner also said the employee's father was sick and that his actions were out of character. In the report, Elmhurst police indicated they would seek an arrest warrant for the man, referring to the crime as home repair fraud. The family filed their report July 26.