CBS4 investigation prompts Aurora police to investigate alleged shady contractor
A contractor allegedly scamming people in the Denver metro area may be held accountable after months of no recourse. After CBS4 Investigates started inquiring about a case where a woman was allegedly conned out of $1,100, Aurora Police started investigating, and Friday afternoon police said they're working to obtain a misdemeanor arrest warrant against the man allegedly responsible. It's not yet submitted, as police say it is still being worked on.
It all started in December, when Pat Barash, who rents out several apartment units in the metro area, needed carpeting work in one of her units in Aurora. She found a contractor online, hiring Abercrombie Carpets and Floors, owned by Michael Tobin, of Golden.
"We arranged to meet two days later, which we did at the rental property. He measured the total amount of square footage I needed for carpeting, and he gave me a price and said he needed a deposit, and it was $1,100 and the remainder needed to be collected at the final install of the carpeting, padding, tack strips and some flooring repair that he needed to do, so I sent him via Venmo $1,100," Barash recalled.
But then she says she didn't hear from him. For weeks, she says she tried calling him several times, but no answer.
"I then used a friend's telephone, and I got a hold of him instantly. And he said I'll meet you that afternoon at 1 p.m. I said, 'great, what has been going on?' He said, 'well, I've had all kinds of problems, all kinds of issues, but I'll meet you this afternoon at 1 p.m.' I said, 'are you sure?' He said, 'yes,'" Barash said.
"So, we drove over there and never showed up. I texted him to no avail and I have never heard from him since," she said.
Barash says police initially told her it was a civil matter, so she tried to get her money back in small claims court and hired a process server, but the server was unsuccessful and the small claims case was closed.
"The process server had no luck whatsoever. He said they refused to either answer the door or they answer the door and say he's never there," Barash said.
Court records from 2010 show Tobin pleaded guilty to felony theft charges in Adams County in an incident unrelated to Barash's claims.
What's more, there are many complaints similar to Barash's concerns on the Better Business Bureau website. part,
"This man Mike comes across real nice, then literally steals money," one review reads in part.
That's something Tobin denies.
Friday afternoon, CBS4 Investigates stopped by Tobin's house to get his side of the story, after he hung up on CBS4 Investigator Kati Weis a week earlier when she attempted to speak with him over the phone.
Asked about Barash's concerns, Tobin said, "I got her carpet, and she said, 'No, you're too late, blah, blah, blah, blah,' so she can have her carpet if she wants her carpet. I got the carpet, she put it off, when she finally decided, I said, 'Well you can come get your carpet' and she said, 'No, you need to give me my money back,' and I said, 'No, that's not going to happen.' I can give you 800 bucks back, not $1,100 for a restocking fee, and I can still do that," Tobin said.
Asked about the complaints on the BBB website, Tobin said, "I haven't read the other complaints. I haven't done this to other customers."
Barash says it didn't go down that way and wants to warn others to do careful research before choosing a contractor.
"I pay my bills, I do everything by the books, and I'm still taken advantage of. That's what hurts." Barash said.
