A Tampa resident was arrested for allegedly scamming an elderly Palm Coast woman out of thousands of dollars for uncompleted HVAC work, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office says. 32-year-old Amjad Otor was said to have agreed to do duct work and accepted money without holding up his end.
The victim contacted a company called Universal Air Duct Cleaning LLC in February to clean her Palm Coast home’s ducts, the FCSO says. There were said to be two men who arrived in a dark Chevrolet pickup truck with no branding.
According to the FCSO, the men did a partial cleaning and told the 88-year-old woman some of her duct work needed to be replaced. They charged her $500 for this visit, and quoted her $5,000 for the replacement on the condition that she made a partial payment up-front.
The FCSO says Otor took $1,000 in cash from the woman and showed her a new piece of duct work which would be installed. He’s then said to have told her the work was done, and taken two more checks amounting to $3,000.
The woman then asked her own handyman to verify the work, apparently having grown suspicious. Upon inspecting the home, the handyman concluded that nobody entered the attic to replace the damaged duct in question. When the woman called to have the original men finish the job she paid for, she reportedly didn’t get an answer.
Law enforcement was contacted in March, alleging fraud against the men from Universal Air Duct Cleaning. Detectives who investigated the case concluded that Otor used a pseudonym while conducting business with the victim.
The FCSO and Florida Attorney General’s Office had a certified inspector visit the home to examine the duct work. Upon reviewing the work, the inspector concluded that no replacement was performed. After this, the woman identified Otor in a photo lineup, saying he was the one she interacted with when they visited her home.
A check into Universal Air Duct Cleaning revealed it was out of business without a current license. There have apparently been more than one instance of complaints that work was never finished. The owner, 25-year-old Altamonte Springs resident Tomer Nahmani, reportedly hired Otor to perform work as a subcontractor despite him not having a contractor license.
An arrest warrant for Otor was obtained on Wednesday, August 12. The FCSO Fugitive Apprehension Unit worked with the Fort Lauderdale Police Department to take him into custody without incident. Otor was charged with organized scheme to defraud and theft of a person 65 years of age or older. He’s since been released from the Broward County Jail on $10,000 bond.
“This fake AC repair man sold an 88-year-old woman nothing but hot air and took $4,000 for it,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “It is a disgusting lowlife that would take advantage of anyone, but especially a senior. Remember to always thoroughly research companies you plan to do business with and never pay in cash, no matter how great the deal may be. When they ask for cash, run. That’s another sign of a fraud. Construction scammers beware; we treat fraud like the crime it is!”
