SAN ANTONIO – A trusted San Antonio roofing company has gone out of business, leaving customers without the new roofs they paid for.
This same company was featured in an earlier KSAT 12 Defenders report for giving free roofs to two men who got ripped off.
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Steve Flores, of America's Roofing and Restoration, had his crews put free roofs on the homes of two disabled men who had gotten ripped off by another roofer.
Back in October, he also gave some advice on what contractors to trust.
"Never sign anything," Flores said. "Never give money to anybody unless you know exactly who it is."
Now America's Roofing and Restoration is apparently out of business.
The Defenders have received several complaints from their customers, including one woman in Cibolo, who is suffering from Stage 4 cancer.
Barbara Rossi gave the company a $500 check and $830 in insurance money.
"You have a contract, everything's legit and then they just up and disappear with your money," Rossi said.
She desperately needs a new roof and saw the company at a home and garden show in San Antonio.
America's Roofing used to be located in an office on West Magnolia Street but the building is now locked up tight.
When Rossi's roof did not get scheduled, she managed to get ahold of an employee who said:
"'Well, I went to work yesterday and all the locks were changed,'" Rossi said, quoting the employee. "'I don't have a job. I don't know what they've done with your money.'"
Rob Strange also found the company at a home and garden show.
"I sign a contact, hand over $1,100 and then not one shingle on the roof yet," Strange said.
Strange said the company's Facebook page shows them sponsoring a baseball team and he trusted them.
He thinks this is criminal.
"Hearing that there's a number of folks that are getting screwed on this whole deal, I think yeah, there's something that's kind of gone over the line," Strange said.
Contractors have gone to jail. Karl Keen of Presidential Pools was sentenced to jail time after a string of customer complaints.
Customers in these situations are urged to file police reports.
The district attorney's office can then decide whether to take the case to the grand jury for indictment and prosecution.