Kosciusko County man suspected of home improvement fraud

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By Beth Boehne

Story Created: Sep 11, 2008 at 3:03 PM EST

Story Updated: Sep 11, 2008 at 3:05 PM EST

KOSCIUSKO CO. — Police are investigating what they are calling a "large scale home improvement fraud case" involving a Kosciusko County man.

Matthew Trier, 42, operated under the company name Warsaw Builders, according to the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department.

Trier allegedly took payments upfront from customers and then did not complete the jobs. In some cases he returned a portion of the customers' money, but not all of it. Police say the victims' losses exceed $23,000.

Police say they've received at least nine complaints about Trier, and suspect there are more victims out there.

Trier could face fraud charges in each incident.

Several of the victims have also filed complaints with the Indiana Attorney General’s Office as well as the Better Business Bureau of Northeastern Indiana.

Possible victims can call Detective Josh Spangle directly at (574) 265-2249 for further investigation.

Saturday, Nov 29 at 1:36 PM mark wrote ...

the person who wrote about this guy working at elder bearmen and losing his job was way off.i worked there as his supervisor and he left for a new higher paying job,we hated to see him go and im sure that comment was left by mellisa stephens,who was mellisa armey at the time,she would come in and bother him after he broke up with her for cheating on him with a alcholic ex-cop,and she is also upset because she put on a whole lot of weight,and her face is bloated from alchohol abuse,,,too bad

Sunday, Sep 14 at 7:44 PM Yet another K County resident wrote ...

How does one become a contractor? Do they have to show qualifications & knowledge or do they just need funding? This Trier guy worked in the loss prevention @ Elder-Beerman until he was canned for keeping a scrapbook of cleavage/butt pictures of customers & coworkers he took using the security cameras. Then he was a "Bounty Hunter". How did this loser become a contractor??

Saturday, Sep 13 at 10:19 PM another K County res. wrote ...

I've been in the position to have to hire pros for home repairs/renovations. It can be real scary, especially when, like me, you are relatively new to the area. I learned long ago if you don't have friends to get referrals from, contact the BBB & attorney general, and Google "lawsuit" with the contractors name, as well as the company. If they've been around a long time, there might be a case or two, but several in a recent period is a clear sign to call someone else.

Saturday, Sep 13 at 3:09 PM Kosciusko County resident wrote ...

I find this whole situation ironic. Trier frequently writes "holier than thou" letters to the Editor of our paper condemning different people and/or actions. Very odd this bible thumper would be charged with fraud.

Friday, Sep 12 at 7:54 AM FROM MARSHALL COUNTY IND. wrote ...

WHAT CAN BE DONE IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS ? I WAS TAKEN FOR SEVEN THOUSAND DOLLARS AND EVEN CONTACTED THE IND ATTONERY GENERAL AND THEY TOLD ME THAT THERE WAS NOTHING THEY COULD DO. I ALSO CONTACTED THE BBB AND THE CONTRACTOR IS STILL WORKING AND HAS TAKEN MONEY FROM A NUMEROUS AMOUNT OF PEOPLE , SO GOOD LUCK WITH THIS !!!!!!!!

Thursday, Sep 11 at 3:45 PM Anonymous wrote ...

DOES HE WORK FOR THE CAR COMPANY? THATS HOW THEY WORK TOO.

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