Parolee Charged With 3 Counts Of Home Repair Fraud In Evanston

EVANSTON, IL — Police said an Evanston man on parole following previous home repair fraud convictions faces fresh felony charges after residents reported he had taken more than $7,000 for work that was never completed.

Kerry Farina, 38, of the 2000 block of Foster Street, was arrested on Jan. 4 in the 2300 block of Jackson Avenue and charged with three counts of aggravated home repair fraud following a wanted bulletin issued Dec. 27, according to Evanston police.

Police said the first of three reports of Farina defrauding residents was received on Oct. 15. A 47-year-old Ashland Avenue resident told police Farina had knocked on his door on July 29 and asked if he needed any work done around the house, according to Cmdr. Ryan Glew.

The two agreed on a cost of $1,400 for painting, materials and some small jobs, Glew said. Farina completed the painting, and the resident then agreed to pay $4,000 for some roofing work. After the resident paid up front, Farina started making excuses about why he was unable to do the work, claiming permits were taking longer than expected or that he had fallen ill.

"Being fed up with his excuses, [the resident] looked [Farina] up on the internet and found him to be a habitual scammer that had defrauded numerous other people," Glew said.

Farina was released on parole last year after receiving an eight-year sentence for aggravated home repair fraud and other offenses in Boone County in 2014, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. According to police, he used his real name in all his interactions with Evanstonians he is accused of defrauding.

The second incident leading a felony home repair charge was reported Oct. 31, according to Glew. A 48-year-old Harrison Street resident reported he met Farina on Oct. 2 after learning Farina had been working as a handyman for his neighbor. The resident paid Farina a $1,000 deposit for painting and chimney repairs then gave him another $2,000 when Farina said he needed the money to prepare for the job.

After Farina made more excuses about why he was unable to do the job, such as illness, hospitalization and others, the resident looked him up online, found his criminal record with the IDOC and reported the incident to police, Glew said.

In the third incident, a 66-year-old Wesley Avenue resident reported on Nov. 28 that Farina knocked on his door five days earlier and claimed that his chimney needed work, offering to do it for $350. According to Glew, the resident said Farina demanded a $200 cash deposit that day to do the work. The resident gave Farina the cash before conducting an internet search about Farina and demanding a refund. Farina provided a $200 refund check, but it bounced.

According to IDOC records, before that he served six months in prison in 2006 and three years following a 2008 conviction, all for charges relating to home repair fraud and misrepresentations.

In addition to the eight-year sentence resulting from convictions in Boone and Stephenson counties for which Farina was paroled at the time of his most recent arrest, he also pleaded guilty in December 2011 to two counts of aggravated home repair fraud in in Winnebago County and was sentenced to prison after failing to report to his probation officer, according to the Rockford Register-Star. A resident of Belvidere at the time, Farina admitted he promised to repair two homeowners' chimneys, accepted payments and never completed the work.

Farina was ordered held jailed in lieu of the $20,000 cash portion of a bond ahead of his next court appearance on Jan. 29, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Office.