Family Scammed By Insurance Company Gets Holiday Miracle
ROUND LAKE BEACH, Ill. (CBS) - A local family that lost its home to a fire is getting what they are calling a holiday miracle: a new home. It is all happening in response to a story done last month by Dave Savini and CBS 2 Investigators.
Jason Neel wishes he would have checked out CIS-Certified Insurance Group of Palos Hills before he hired them to fix the family home.
He says they showed up at his home the night of the fire in January of 2010.
One year later, $53,000 in insurance money to fix the home is all gone, after it was taken by CIS.
According to Neel, CIS barely did any work and the company is now out of business.
When asked if he ever thought his family would end up homeless, Neel said, "Yes, there was many times where I thought that."
Jason's wife, Emily Neel, says their temporary housing money was set to run out on December 31st.
"For a while there, I didn't think it was going to be OK" said Emily, the mother of three children.
Shortly after CBS 2 told their story, a major donation was given to the Neels.
Their home was going to be rebuilt by another company, Quality Craft Incorporated, QCI Restoration located in Elgin.
Emily Neel said there were no words to describe her feelings about the donation.
"It's just incredible. I didn't know anybody could be this kind," she said.
The Neels are grateful to QCI Restoration and for all the sub-contractors who have helped pitch in to rebuild their home -- but they still want justice.
They want someone to pay for what happened to them since their fire because most of their insurance money has disappeared.
Since the Neels contacted CBS 2, six more alleged victims of insurance fraud by CIS have been discovered, prompting a police investigation by the Cook County Sheriff's Police.
Police sources say they are investigating CIS's owner, Warren Pointer.
Pointer, whose criminal arrest record includes aggravated battery, weapons charges and deceptive practices, did not respond to our repeated attempts to talk to him.
Police sources say Pointer's employees would allegedly monitor emergency scanners and show up at fire scenes in hopes of signing insurance repair contracts.
CIS was also performing insurance adjusting work called Public Adjusting, and was doing so even though Pointer had no official state license.
Officials from the Illinois Department of Insurance say the Neels should have checked their website to see if it was licensed, and that it is a bad idea to ever sign a contract on the night of a fire or in the immediate moments after any kind of damage to your home.
Gary Skott, the owner of QCI Restoration, agrees that homeowners need to wait until they check out a company thoroughly and ask for references before signing anything.
QCI Restoration has donated much of the labor and materials needed to finish the job for the small amount of insurance money that is left.
Skott saw the original CBS 2 report and is spearheading the effort to rebuild the Neel family home.
"When we heard they were going to become homeless before the end of the month, my heart went out to them," Skott said.
Emily Neel laughed with happiness when she saw her home nearing completion this week.
"A Christmas miracle," said Emily. "Definitely a wonderful gift; the best gift I've ever been given."
