LONGMONT, Colo. — A Longmont woman is stuck with the work of putting in a patio after she says a local landscaper took her money and left her with an unfinished project.
The do-it-yourself patio project is not what Sindy Wise had planned.
"This is backbreaking work," Wise said, lifting a giant piece of flagstone.
Last month, she saw a landscaper, Travis Goodspeed, doing work for a neighbor, and she hired him to put in her flagstone patio. She paid a $1,000 deposit.
Wise said Goodspeed had just started the job when he asked for more money.
"This is all the work that he did for $1,000," Wise said, pointing to nine small pavers that had been placed. "I told him that is not what the contract said, and I wouldn't pay him more until he finished at least half of the project. He said he wouldn't do it, and we haven't seen him since."
Wise said she started to ask around on Next Door and found multiple neighbors with similar stories.
"He literally came in and pulled apart my entire sprinkler system and left with all the parts. He did a lot of damage," said Jill Temkin, who had posted a warning about her experience from three years ago. "Do not use him. His name is Travis Goodspeed, and he's just a con artist."
Contact Denver7 did some digging and found Goodspeed has a several small claims court and civil judgments against him and a lengthy criminal history, serving jail time for theft charges.
"Consumer protection is a priority for our office," wrote Shannon Carbone, a spokesperson for the District Attorney office. "Our office prosecutes these cases and seeks restitution for the victims. Our office has prosecuted this individual previously... We encourage victims to reach out to our office."
At the business address listed on Goodspeed's contract, we found no office, only mailboxes.
Goodspeed would not speak on camera, but stated on the phone that he was finishing projects and refunding money for people he didn't.
"I'm working. I owned Boulder Landscaping Design," Goodspeed said. "I finish everything, and if I can't, I work out payment arrangements."
He claimed he would refund Wise by the end of July, but Wise said after the phone call he texted to say he would not because she had gone to the news.
Wise and others said they are now reaching out to the Boulder County District Attorneys Consumer Protection Unit to make sure that no one else has a DIY project they never wanted.
"I want him to be held accountable," Wise said. "I've already accepted if I don't get any money, I'm fine with that. I want him to stop."
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