Krishna and Vijaya Kannan left India to pursue the American Dream. They found exactly what they were looking for here in North Texas.
“We thought this would be the right place to buy,” Vijaya said.
The couple purchased a house in Plano that needed a lot of work. Their realtor recommended Nathan Anderson of Dream Remodeling.
“The realtor said that Nathan Anderson had worked on previous projects, and he had seen him on other projects of similar nature. And he told us that there's not anyone like him,” Krishna said.
They met Anderson in November and loved his renovation ideas. He said he could have the entire house done by February, so they decided to sign a contract.
The Kannans agreed to pay by cash and checks which would be made out to his partner, Arminda Lopez. They made their first payment of $5,700.
According to the couple, they didn't check in often, but when they did, they noticed a lot of demolition and thought that things were progressing. By the time February rolled around, the Kannans said they paid Anderson $73,000.
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“So, on Feb. 10, we walk into this house expecting something to be done and we were shocked,” Vijaya said.
Debris, tools and even live wires can be seen throughout the home. The Kannans said it was a disaster and Nathan Anderson was nowhere to be found.
“It was nothing done, exactly in the same condition it was as I saw before,” Vijaya explained.
“We were devastated,” said Krishna.
They called Anderson to find out why the house wasn't near completion. Per the contract, it was supposed to be done by Feb. 18.
“He kept giving us excuse after excuse,” said Vijaya.
They received text messages from Anderson that his truck was out of commission, he was working with a customer and the weather was bad. They eventually hired a lawyer and sent a letter demanding that Anderson complete the job.
Instead, he agreed to give them $43,000 back. But the couple said he never showed up.
"I have been duped. I have been cheated. I have been scammed," said Krishna. "Nathan, I trusted you."
But the Kannans are not alone.
The NBC 5 Responds team has received other complaints about Nathan Anderson, including one from John Marshall last year.
He paid Anderson $2,300 to replace his fence, but the job never got finished.
When I talked to Anderson over the phone, he agreed to give Marshall his money back, and he delivered.
But, when I talked to Anderson about the Kannans, he told me he did do $73,000 worth of work, and the only reason he agreed to give them $43,000 was to get them to "shut up, go away and leave me alone," he said.
Anderson said he ripped out half of the house and rewired the whole thing. As for the money, he said the couple wouldn't let him get his tools, so the deal for the $43,000 was off.
A text message from Anderson shows when it was time for him to pick up the tools, he replied, "never mind. I will just go buy those tools again."
In another text, Anderson is threatening to put a lien on the property and get them kicked out of the country.
“You've only been hurting us more and more,” said Vijaya. “You need to stop this and you need to return the money and hopefully let people like us live in peace.”
The couple went to the Plano Police Department and the Collin County District Attorney's Office. They were told this was a civil matter.
The Collin County DA’s Office wouldn't comment, but Plano police told NBC 5 Responds, "because there is a dispute over the work done and the amount paid, this becomes a civil matter and does not rise to the level of a criminal act. Based on our interpretation of the law and when officer Jones contacted the DA’s office for confirmation, it was determined that this was a contract dispute and not a criminal offense," police said.
