DENVER — Police say they’ve nabbed a local contractor who has been ripping people off after getting paid for landscape and concrete work all over the metro area.
Officers arrested Jeremiah Lopez last week after he allegedly scammed someone in Parker, but now they’re looking for help connecting with all of his alleged victims.
When Ivory Soon Fah and her husband grew frustrated with some poor concrete work in their back yard, they searched Craigslist for a contractor who could fix it. After meeting Jeremiah Lopez, they were convinced he was the man for the job. There was just one big problem.
“When the job came, he never came,” Ivory said.
After signing a contract and getting an $800 check for half of the work up front, Lopez vanished.
“It was upsetting because it felt like we jest threw money out the window,” Ivory said.
“He would bid a job and he would collect a portion of that money up front and then, unfortunately, he wouldn’t return,” said Sgt. Andrew Coleman with the Parker Police Department.
Sgt. Coleman said Lopez was apparently running the same scheme all over the metro area for some time without getting caught. Then, last week, Parker Police got a solid tip and managed to arrest Lopez. He now faces charges of forgery, criminal impersonation and theft. Lopez is now out on bond.
“We know where he is,” Coleman said. “We have him in the system, now what we’re doing is reaching out to find out what other potential victims are out there.”
Jeremiah Lopez also used several aliases, including Jay and John Manzanares. He also used several company names, including Yankee Landscaping.
“He had three different phone numbers and now they’re all disconnected,” Ivory said.
Ivory is one of at least 10 victims who have already come forward. Now, when you search his name on Craigslist, scam warnings are the only thing that appear.
“Karma, what goes around comes around,” Ivoery said.
If you believe you were scammed by Jeremiah Lopez, call Parker Police detective Penny McLean at 303-805-6560.