A Doral husband and wife who allegedly worked as unlicensed contractors are facing charges after police said they agreed to do a $270,000 remodel then demolished the house and pocketed the deposit without finishing the job.
Luis Gustavo Arvelo-Teran, 34, and Maria de Los Angeles Rosales Solorzano, 33, were arrested Tuesday on charges including grand theft, organized fraud and engaging in contracting without a license, arrest reports said.
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According to the reports, the victim had met with the husband and wife in September 2022 to discuss an entire home remodel with a new addition after he'd been referred to their company, Luma Solutions Corp.
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The contract price was $270,000 and the victim paid them a deposit of $135,000, with the rest payable upon the completion of building milestones, the reports said.
The demolition of the home's interior took place in November 2022 but after several weeks, no one returned and the home was left in an "uninhabitable state," the reports said.
The victim started looking into the company and found they weren't qualified to perform the work due to them not being licensed, the reports said.
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The victim confronted the couple and they admitted their license had been revoked, so the victim terminated the contract and demanded a refund, the reports said.
The homeowner filed a consumer complaint and the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources began an investigation.
Investigators discovered that after the $135,000 check was deposited, multiple ATM withdrawals in increments of $200 to $600 were conducted, the reports said.
A year after the construction was stopped by the couple, the victim contracted another company to complete the remodel, the reports said.
Arvelo-Teran and Rosales Solorzano were arrested and booked into jail on Tuesday. The couple were granted pretrial services with alternate bonds of $30,500 each during court appearances Wednesday.
