MIAMI – A Miami homeowner eager to improve his property instead lost $135,000 to a husband-and-wife duo who posed as licensed contractors and left his home in a disastrous state before disappearing, according to police.
Miami police said the victim, who lives in the city’s Buena Vista neighborhood, hired Doral couple Luis Gustavo Arvelo Teran, 34, and Maria de los Angeles Rosales Solorzano, 33, in September 2022.
“It’s an old house and it needed some upgrades but it was still in great shape,” said victim John Thomas. “The house was beautiful.”
The pair, working as Luma Solutions Corp., had Thomas pay 50% down on a $270,000 home renovation contract, police said. Authorities said Thomas found the company online.
“I wrote them the check for $135,000 in September of 2022,” he said.
The pair gutted Thomas’ home and then “disappeared without returning to complete any of the promised renovations,” Officer Kiara Delva, a Miami Police Department spokesperson, said in a news release Monday.
Thomas, whose home was left “uninhabitable,” demanded a refund and police said the couple admitted that their license had been revoked, their arrest reports state.
“Now it doesn’t even have a floor,” he said. “If you wanted to just take my money, take my money. Why did you have to just destroy my house? At least at that point I would have a place to live.”
Detectives undertook a long investigation after the crime was reported to them and located the couple Tuesday at the Party City at 10650 NW 19th St. in Doral, according to their arrest reports.
While police celebrated the pair’s arrest, the charges likely proved to be a party pooper for the couple. They each face first-degree felony counts of grand theft by contractor and organized scheme to defraud, as well as a misdemeanor charge of contracting without a license.
“At least now there is that satisfaction that they didn’t get away with it and that brings a little bit of a peace of mind,” Thomas said.
The Venezuelan nationals were no longer listed in Miami-Dade jail records as of Monday.
“(D)etectives believe that there may be additional victims who have fallen prey to similar scams orchestrated by these unlicensed contractors,” a news release states. “The Miami Police Department urges anyone who may have had dealings with the defendants, or who may have additional information related to other cases, to come forward and assist with the ongoing investigation.”
Anyone who thinks the duo may have victimized them is asked to call MPD’s Financial Crimes Unit at 305-603-6280.