A State College man is facing charges after police say he accepted thousands of dollars in advance for home improvement jobs that he never completed.
Roger A. Hileman allegedly took advanced payments of more than $20,000 for remodeling work on two homes on the same street in Gray’s Woods but left a substantial portion of both jobs unfinished after several months and has not returned the money.
According to an affidavit of probable cause filed on Thursday by Patton Township Police, the first homeowners to file a report agreed to a contract with Hileman in August to remodel their unfinished basement for $20,000 and install flooring in an upstairs area for $1,100. A completion date was not in the contract but Hileman reportedly told them it would take about four weeks.
The homeowners provided a down payment of $10,000 for the basement work and $550 for the flooring and work began on Sept. 13, according to the complaint. Police said the flooring job was completed on Oct. 5 and was unsatisfactory to the homeowners, so a verbal agreement was made that it would be redone. Only a partial framing of the basement had been completed at that time.
Since then ‘little to no work has been completed at the residence,’ according to the complaint. After text messages went unanswered, the homeowners said they reached Hileman by phone on Oct. 27 and he assured them he would resume work three days later, but did not.
Police said the homeowners repeatedly tried to contact Hileman by text message and phone calls in October and November and received no response before they filed a police report on Nov. 28. After they contacted police, Hileman reportedly responded, saying he would return the advanced payment by Jan. 16. Police said as of Thursday ‘Hileman has failed to return all advanced funds to the homeowners.’
During the time the homeowners were trying to contact Hileman, they were able to make contact with a member of his work crew, who said Hileman told him not to return to the job because they had been fired due to a theft report at another job on the same street, according to the complaint.
Police checked with those homeowners who said Hileman and his crew had not been fired and they wanted their project to be completed as well.
The second homeowners reportedly said they agreed to a contract with Hileman on July 23 for a remodeling of their basement for $29,500. They also did not have a completion date in their contract but were assured it would be finished in a timely manner, police said. Hileman allegedly told them it would take five weeks to complete once work began and that it would be finished before December when the homeowners were expecting the birth of their child.
Advanced payment of $15,000 was given to Hileman in July and an additional $7,500 was provided in September, police said. The homeowners said work began on Aug. 21 and the last day any work was done on the project was Oct. 11. They met with him on Oct. 20 to discuss concerns about delays and the quality of work, according to the complaint, and had their last communication with Hileman on Oct. 25 when he told them an electrician would be coming. An electrician never never came to the property, they said.
The homeowners also received no response when they attempted contact Hileman by phone, text message and certified letter, police said. Like the first couple, the homeowners also reportedly made contact with a crew member who told them Hileman had informed him they had been fired from the job.
Police said the estimated amount to be returned by Hileman for the second homeowners was about $10,000 for work that was unfinished or needed to be redone.
Hileman was charged with two counts of receiving advanced payment and failing to perform services, a third degree felony. He was arraigned on Thursday before District Judge Casey McClain and released on recognizance. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
