Cresson man charged in home improvement fraud | WTAJ

CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — A Cresson man is facing charges after he was allegedly paid over $22,000 to complete a project but then failed to do so, according to the Portage Police Department.

Anthony Dziabo, 37, the owner of Dziabo Construction is facing charges after he allegedly failed to complete an addition on a women’s home in Portage Borough. According to the police, on March 6, 2024, the alleged victim reported that Dziabo failed to complete a contract.

The contract allegedly stated that the addition to the house was supposed to take 2 – 3 months and was signed in October of 2022. The alleged victim told police that she paid $14,925 to Dziabo at the signing of the contract and $7,462.50 on Nov. 25, 2022.

The addition of the home was being built from Oct. 2022 until mid-Dec. 2022 when the contractor allegedly told the homeowner that they would be taking off for the Christmas holiday. Dziabo then did not return to the home between Dec. 2022 to June 2023, according to the police department.

The homeowner also allegedly turned over text messages that she had sent, but that went unanswered. In June of 2023, Dziabo then allegedly returned to the home for 3 days and was working on the addition. Whilst on the property he allegedly broke a window and told the homeowner that he would pay or fix it, but as of March 2024 the window is still broken.

From June 2023 to Nov. 2023, Dziabo never returned to the home to complete the work in the contract. In Nov. he allegedly did return to the property, but to drop off materials that were unrelated to the completion of the addition.

Dziabo has not returned to the home since and the addition is still incomplete, according to the Portage Police Department. The homeowner added that they do not have access to the addition and multiple things that were allegedly stated in the contract are not complete.

In total, the homeowner paid Dziabo $22,387.50 to build the addition. Police said they arrested him on Monday, March 18.

Dziabo was released on unsecured bail set at $75,000. He is facing felony charges of theft by deception, deceptive or fraudulent business practices and receiving advance payment for services and failing to perform.

He has a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 2.