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$148,650 cleaning bill leads to fraud charges

By CAMILLE C. SPENCER
Published May 23, 2006

In December, she decided to get her carpets cleaned, and picked RG Carpet Cleaning and Restoration out of the Yellow Pages.

Then Jeremie Joseph England showed up at her door.

The woman told the Times that England inspected her rug, saw mold and screamed:

"It will kill you! You've got to knock these walls down."

Reluctant at first, but fearing for her safety, the woman agreed to let England fix the problem. It turned out to be a $148,650 mistake, she said.

"He had some of his men come in and knock down bedroom walls and closet walls and the linen closet," said the woman, who is not being identified because of her age. "He didn't give me a contract or tell me how much it would cost. He just kept asking for checks."

England removed rugs and installed tile in the living room, dining room and TV room, the woman said.

The work left the woman's home with missing grout and tile that didn't meet the baseboards, according to a Sheriff's Office report.

Less than 10 percent of the $148,650 the woman paid England went to tile, drywall and cabinets, the report said.

As England kept asking for money, the woman said, she called deputies last month. Deputies arrested England, 29, of 1521 Toledo St. in Holiday, on Sunday. He was charged with scheme to defraud and grand theft.

Times staff writer Molly Moorhead contributed to this report.

[Last modified May 23, 2006, 04:27:53]