HOMESTEAD, Fla. – Community members are rallying behind an 80-year-old disabled Navy veteran in Homestead after police said she was scammed by a pair of remodelers who left her kitchen in ruins.
A group of retired, disabled, and active military veterans set up a GoFundMe page for Eileen Haran, hoping to raise $40,000 to help fix her kitchen. Police said they’ve offered the labor to help finish the job, but need financial help getting it done.
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“Our mission is to raise the funds needed to complete this project for a senior veteran who served her country honorably for 21 years as a medical professional,” the GoFundMe page reads. “She’s never asked for anything in her life and it’s now time for us to pay it forward.”
Police arrested Mariby Martinez Rodriguez, 50, the registered owner of Yes Pro Services Inc. and Rodolfo Perez Sanchez, 51, an employee who represents himself as the second owner of the company, earlier this month, officials said. The pair reside in Miami-Dade County.
Police said Haran hired the pair to remodel her kitchen, was quoted $20,000 for the job, and paid Yes Pro Services a $10,000 deposit. The company is registered to a home in west Miami-Dade.
The process initially seemed promising, but “as time progressed, it became evident that Yes Pro Services Inc had deceived her, leaving her kitchen in a state of disarray and herself in financial distress,” Capt. Fernando Morales, a Homestead Police Department spokesperson, said in a news release.
Morales said the couple, who also own a company called Yes Roofing, “misrepresented to the victim that they were a licensed company,” “swindled” her out of $10,000 and refused to return the deposit on multiple occasions.
The pair face charges of grand theft by a contractor, contractor fraud and falsely advertising as a licensed contractor.
He said Haran is “hopeful that she will be able to get her deposit back and find a trustworthy company who is able to help her complete her kitchen remodel and enjoy her retirement.”
Anyone who thinks they may have been victimized by the duo is asked to call Homestead police at 305-247-1535, authorities said.