(BEDFORD) – Indiana State Police troopers arrested a Mitchell man after police say he scammed homeowners out of their hard-earned money.
Police arrested 53-year-old David Kennedy on Sunday afternoon after a warrant was issued for his arrest. Kennedy is facing felony charges of corrupt business influence, racketeering, theft, and home improvement fraud.
On the evening of August 26, a Bedford resident reported a possible home improvement scam.
The resident presented Bedford Police Department Capt. Jesse Crane with a seven-page document stating he had hired Kennedy with General Contractors Unlimited LLC on February 7th to complete a water damage renovation to a portion of his basement. The victim agreed to pay a $2,500 deposit and another $1,300 at the completion of the project.
The victim told police Kennedy removed the water-damaged materials and then abandoned the project.Â
The victim attempted to contact Kennedy many times over two months by making several calls, leaving numerous messages about completing the work or getting his $2,500 deposit back. None of the calls were returned.
The victim also hired a local attorney to send a registered letter to Kennedy about the work. Kennedy did not respond to the letter. The victim also filed a report with the Better Business Bureau and Kennedy failed to respond to their inquiries.
During the investigation, police learned that Kennedy has several criminal and civil cases pending for fraud and theft in Lawrence, Orange, Marshall, Pike, and Owen counties.
While investigating this case, officers received two other complaints against Kennedy.
On September 13, detectives spoke to Kennedy. He claimed he did the work for one of the victims but had not been able to get to work for the other two clients. Kennedy told police he was having trouble in other counties and he was still trying to work things out in those cases.
The information gathered by detectives was presented to the prosecutor’s office and a warrant was issued for Kennedy’s arrest.
