‘Got ripped off’: Calgary woman who fell victim to contractor fraud speaks out
All a Calgary couple wanted was to renovate the front hall of their southeast Calgary home but instead, they lost thousands after falling victim to contractor fraud earlier this year. Homeowner Crystal Arnold — who lives in Deer Ridge — says she’s reminded of the $8,000 loss every time she walks up and down her...
A Calgary woman who fell victim to contractor fraud is speaking out about her $8,000 loss. Crystal Arnold, who lives in Deer Ridge, says she and her husband were looking to renovate the front hall of their home when they were duped by a contractor they only knew as "Ralph". Arnold says they found the contractor through a website that connects homeowners with contractors and renovation experts.
"He was really nice", she said. "He came in (and) he seemed super knowledgeable. He gave us a price that worked within our budget." They were quoted $16,000 for the project and paid a $3,000 deposit. Arnold noticed a red flag when "Ralph" asked for an additional $5,000 to order supplies. When she confronted him, he became dismissive and stopped responding to her messages.
Arnold says they later discovered that the contractor never ordered the supplies, and that he didn't even have the correct name. Calgary Police arrested the contractor, whose real name is Omar Ghandour, on September 30th and charged him with fraud over $5,000. The Consumer Investigations Unit of the Alberta government had warned people about Ghandour in 2021.
Arnold is urging Albertans to be vigilant when hiring contractors and to take consumer alerts seriously. She also advises anyone who has been the victim of fraud to report it to the Calgary Police Service or Crime Stoppers.
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