THE VILLAGES, Fla. – When James and Kitty Carrick returned to their winter home in Florida two months after Hurricane Irma, they discovered the storm had caused some roof damage to a neighboring house they own.
Attached to the front door was a green flyer advertising David Hall's Handy Services-- a local handyman who claimed to be "licensed and insured.
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The couple contacted Hall, who reportedly offered to fix their roof after demanding a large down payment.
"We gave him $4,000," said Kitty Carrick. "Then he disappeared."
According to Carrick, Hall spent a few hours over the course of four days doing some roof work, but he did not come close to completing the job.
"He put maybe two or three (roof) panels back up," Carrick told News 6. "That was barely starting."
Over the past few months, the Lady Lake Police Department has received about a half-dozen complaints from customers who claim Hall took their money without completing the jobs, according to Detective Butch Purdue.
In two of those cases, including the Carricks', prosecutors charged Hall with elderly exploitation and contracting without a license during a state of emergency.
"It was upsetting," said Karen Johnson, another customer who reportedly paid the handyman $900 to paint her house.
After pressure washing her home, Johnson claims Hall never returned.
"I would call him a professional crook," Johnson said.
Court records show Hall has been arrested more than a dozen times and has been convicted of several felonies, including grand theft, armed burglary, cocaine possession and contracting without a license.
When News 6 called the phone number on the handyman's flyer, a man identifying himself as David Hall said he had been advised by his attorney not to speak to reporters.
"Trust me, when it's all over with, you'll get the story," Hall said before the phone call was abruptly disconnected.
"He takes advantage of elderly people," said Dana Newell, another one of handyman’s former customers. "What I would like to do is buy him a one-way excursion to the Everglades."
Newell claims he paid Hall $8,000 to repair his roof, windows and siding damaged by Hurricane Irma.
Although Newell said the handyman performed some work at his home over the course of several days, the job remains unfinished.
"I was a fool to give him that money," said Newell, who has filed a complaint with police. "If you see David Hall, run the other way."