Fake contractor returns $5,000 to Avondale couple

AVONDALE, AZ (3TV/CBS 5) — Margo Baca has her money back and she couldn’t be happier. “If it hadn’t been for you, I wouldn’t have ever seen my $5,000,” Margo said smiling.

In a previous On Your Side report, she and her husband explained how they hired a company called Territory 48, run by Angel Perez. “This is Angel Perez, and he’s the owner of T-48 or Territory 48,” Margo said as she showed On Your Side a picture.

The fake contractor was supposed to do some work in the couple’s backyard, like installing some travertine. But after demanding $5,000 to start the job, they say Angel Perez disappeared. “He has your money, and yet he hasn’t done any work?” asked On Your Side’s Gary Harper. “No, absolutely not a thing,” she replied, adding that when she has tried calling and texting him, he won’t respond. “It goes straight to voice mail, and we don’t hear anything back in a text. He’s avoiding us.”

On Your Side went to the Buckeye home where Angel Perez and his wife rent a house. But for simply knocking on the door, he and his wife called the police on us. “I’m pressing charges for defamation of business and character,” Arica Perez yelled at On Your Side as police stood by. The officers immediately left after determining what was happening. But the Bacas say the fake contractor and his wife returned $2,000 a few days later after our visit with a promise to return the rest.

And just recently, that’s exactly what happened when the Bacas got a check for the remaining $3,000. “Obviously, lesson learned. But thank you to you guys and thank you Gary Harper for helping us out,” Margo said.

However, it looks like this fake contractor is in trouble again. On Your Side has learned that an East Valley couple has filed a lawsuit against Angel and Arica Perez, claiming they gave the Perezs $42,000 to remodel their backyard, but absolutely no work was ever done.

If there’s an update, On Your Side will let you know.

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