Accused Interior Decorating Scammers Indicted On Theft Charges

SANDY SPRINGS, GA — A Fulton County grand jury has indicted a north Georgia couple on charges stemming from allegations they scammed area residents out of their hard-earned money. The grand jury on June 29 indicted Kenneth Delos Hall and Randy Babin Hall on two counts each of theft by conversion, court records show.

As readers recall, the Halls have been accused by at least three women who shared with Patch their stories of how the couple bilked tens of thousands of dollars from them as part of their crimes.

According to the indictment, the theft by conversion charges stem from the couple on two separate occasions accepting checks from a Sandy Springs resident after promising to do work they never followed through on. That resident, Elizabeth Smith, previously told Patch she hired the Halls to oversee the task of decorating for her daughter's wedding.

Smith and at least two other residents have banded together to sound the alarm on the Halls, who allegedly posed as decorators and submitting advertisements on websites and Facebook publicizing their services.

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here)

Randy Hall, who was convicted of felony theft by conversion in 2014 and was serving five years on probation during the most recent incidents, remains held at the Fulton County Jail without bond. Her husband was booked into the Fulton County Jail on April 2 and was released the following day, records show.

They were also charged by Milton police in March with conversion of payments for real property improvements stemming from a 2017 case in which they promised to perform renovations to a home, but never completed the work.

Smith said the Halls were recently accused of running a scam costing about $400,000 in Charlotte, and a few more victims have come forward to talk about their experiences in losing money due to the Halls' actions. The Sandy Springs resident said under normal circumstances, a felony theft conviction and probation would "be enough to convince most people to seize their second chances and stay on the right side of the law."

This isn't the case for the Halls, she said. Following her 2014 conviction, Randy Hall and her husband resumed their schemes targeting vulnerable people, Smith told Patch.

"Meanwhile, victims from other states are coming forward with more criminal charges," Smith added. "At the end of the day, all any of us wants is to protect future ‘clients’ from being victimized. Unfortunately, incarceration seems as if it will be the only effective deterrent.”

Photo: Ken Hall, left, and Randy Hall. Credit: Fulton County Jail