LAKEWOOD, Ohio (WOIO) – A Lakewood resident said she and her husband are out thousands of dollars because of someone they trust.

“I never would have thought you were that kind of guy,” said Christine Main,

Main said she and her husband lost a total of $16,000.

She added that she has documents, bank statements and court records as proof that Stephan Kaczmarski, the contractor she hired, never lived up to his end of the bargain.

Main contacted 19 Troubleshooter for help

“I retired because my husband has Alzheimer’s,” Main said. “We thought we had to do the porches. So we looked at my retirement and said why not cash in my retirement?”

Main previously told the 19 Troubleshooter that she and her husband hired Kaczmarski and trusted him.

In 2022, he was paid 2/3 of the cost to repair the torn exterior and patch the holes in the porch.

By August 2024, Main said he realized Kaczmarski would never finish the job.

From her own investigation, she found out that his license had expired in February, so she took him to court.

“Not only is he not paying the money back, he will have a criminal record against him. Is that what you want?” Main said.

19 The debuggers also did some investigation.

According to Cuyahoga County Court Records, a grand jury indicted Kaczmarski and accused him of theft.

Kaczmarski’s attorney contacted 19 Troubleshooter.

He claims his client was unaware of any criminal charges and offered to pay some of the money owed back to the utility, but not the $16,000.

Kaczmarski’s attorney also said his client is willing to finish the job; however, Main said by law he is no longer allowed to visit the Lakewood home.

Main said they are looking for a new contractor.

“It’s a shame because you work so hard to do the things you want to do and then someone just takes it away,” Main said.

Copyright 2024 WOIO. All rights reserved.