Surprise, AZ (AZFamily)—David Nedelman has a beautifully manicured backyard and front yard. But after living in her Surprise home for 20 years, it was time to fill in her landscaping rock, which had deteriorated over time. “Just with time and weather, it settles and breaks,” David told On Your Side.
So, two months ago, David looked around and saw this ad in his community newspaper. It was a company called Rock Spread and it claimed it could do exactly what David wanted. It can distribute and spread rocks to refresh a thin yard. All you have to do is “John,” the ad said, and David did just that. “He seemed wise. He brought samples. He told me what size I needed,” David said.
“John,” or John Frias, owned and operated Rock Spread and said he could do David’s property for $1,379. His needs were half forward. So, David writes this check for $700. But immediately after cashing it, John Frias returned and disappeared. “He did it to other people with no intention of doing the work,” David said of what he discovered about other homeowners who complained online.
John Frias apparently has a history. Diane Van Boxtel tells On Your Side she’s another victim. “I hired a company called Rock Spread. And the owner was John Frias,” Dean said.
Diane said she reimbursed John Frias $1,100 in October for delivering and spreading landscaping rock. But, like so many times, he disappeared with the money.
On Your Side has learned that John Frias operated under other company names but reportedly changed them to keep his scheme going. “I really think he’s changing his business to not get caught, you know, to move on to the next opportunity under a different name or something like that,” says Diane.
On Your Side could not locate John Frias However, he emailed claiming, “It was not intentional, events were beyond my control.” He then wrote that he would return everyone’s money by the end of February.
However, victims like David and Diane say they don’t believe John Frias and want the homeowners to continue looking for him.
David said, “You know, people work hard for their money. Save and do the right thing, they say. And when someone comes out and intentionally deceives you and doesn’t have any intentions, it hurts.”
An On Your Side investigation revealed that John Frias is now in the sprinkler repair business. He recently posted an ad on Craigslist that he is “…best choice for sprinkler repair.”
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