Making Moves

Click https://gofund.me/bd9f9273 for the complete story of how a widowed, autistic dad, with two special-needs kids was intentionally defrauded, by this general contractor, out of his entire life savings, leaving his family penniless and homeless.

In 2021, I finally saved enough money to start making my wife and I's dream come true. In my pursuit to find the perfect contractor, a representative from a large flooring company in our area recommended that I speak with Mike Macaluso. He owns Making Moves Construction based out of Mansfield, Texas. In our initial meeting, I gave him a tour of our home, and told him about our dream for the house. After reviewing pictures of his previous work and explaining the changes we wanted, he agreed that he could get the work done in three months. All he requested, at the time, was a $10,000.00 deposit. Okay, done!

Over the next couple of months while the house was being demolished to the studs, he began describing the critical problems he found with the plumbing, electrical, HVAC unit, and sub-floor due to a water leak under the house. He stated these systems had to be completely replaced. It was also during this time that I added new tasks to the remodeling. I wanted to convert the garage into a new master bedroom and bathroom, as well as build a greenhouse and storage shed in the back yard. Mike confirmed he could complete the additional projects, but it would require more money and time understandably.

The arrangement we had was very informal. On occasion, he would call stating that he was out of money because of this or that, and I would wire him amounts from $40,000.00 to $60,000 at a time. However, there was no visible remodeling progress on the house. When I called and asked where all the money was going, he would say he had paid the roofers, electricians, plumbers, and laborers up front, and the materials were being held in his warehouse and at Lowe’s. When I questioned why he had barely made any progress, he would blame the weather, his crew all had COVID, a family member had died, or he was having trouble getting city permits.

On August 19, 2022, Mike and I agreed a legal contract should be drafted. It would outline what tasks and materials had been completed and paid for. It would also list out all the outstanding tasks to be completed as well. Mike indicated he could complete the entire remaining project for an additional $250,000.00, and that I could break out the payments into three $75,000.00 amounts for specific project segments. Desperate to finally have the home we had dreamed of, I wholeheartedly agreed and we both signed the contract.

Now it’s May 26, 2023, and Mike Macaluso has abandoned the project. He won’t return any of my money, nor release any of my new items that go into the house: appliances, custom cabinets, two automatic wrought-iron gates, custom wrought-iron front door, exterior French doors, another exterior door, and all the building supplies (paint, sheetrock, lumber, etc.). These are things that he agreed to store securely until the house was ready for those items. I paid $35,000.00 for the new appliances, which was in addition to the $250,000.00 contractual amount.

Now my home has become my worst nightmare; a constant reminder of how evil people can be in this world, and I have learned to never trust another person again. I no longer have enough money to fix my life’s biggest mistake, so these haunting memories will continue to live on.”