Contractor arrested, accused of stealing thousands from families

Authorities have arrested an unlicensed contractor accused of stealing thousands of dollars from several Arizona families.

James Servellon, 48, is accused of accepting payment to provide remodeling services. He was arrested without incident outside of a family member's wedding ceremony in Lancaster, California.

He's been indicted on theft and fraud charges by the Arizona Attorney General's Office.

The attorney general's office has been looking for Servellon for several weeks, he's accused of taking more than $20,000 from eight victims.

"He will bid on a project to do a bathroom or kitchen, or some other remodeling project. He collects the money and then abandons the project," said Jeff Fleetham.

The Arizona Registrar of Contractors Office has been watching, and even placing Servellon on the top 10 of the most wanted unlicensed contractors.

"These are people with multiple warrants, we have been investigating them for a while, and they seem to have the most egregious activities," said Fleetham.

According to the Attorney General's Office, Servellon is known to post advertisements on Craigslist, and many of his victims were elderly.

The indictment lists multiple counts of fraud and theft, and accuse Servellon of collecting thousands of dollars from victims, never completing the jobs, and never repaying the money.

If you have a big remodeling job, the registrar of contractors has this advice: "Never hire an unlicensed entity. There is no recourse for you through the registrar. If you hire a properly licensed professional through the State of Arizona, then you have recourse. Should your complaint come through you can reach the recovery fund, that is how it should go," said Fleetham.

Servellon was charged with 11 counts, including two counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, and nine counts of theft.

Servellon was booked into Los Angeles County Jail.