Woman Accuses Green Country Contractor Of Con, Shoddy Work

A Tulsa woman's is warning others about a contractor she says took her money but didn't do some of the work.

And she says the quality of the work he did was terrible.

Vicky Simon found Michael Cheatham through an ad on Craigslist. She says not only is she out nearly $10,000, but she has to pay even more than that for repairs.

Cheatham and his business go by a lot of different names. He also has warrants out for his arrest in three counties, felony charges pending against him and more than 70 judgments against him in eight different counties that have never been paid and he has an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau.

Simon said her oven sticks out because Cheatham didn't move the gas line behind it like he promised. She paid $9,600 to Cheatham, who also goes by “Lou” and “Mickey.” She hired him and his wife Debbie to help remodel her house in October.

She says he replaced a door, but, it was so uneven, you couldn't lock it.

She said they replaced her kitchen floor but it's terribly uneven and in the bathroom, left little or no trim around the top of the shower and partially installed some white tiles here and left her plumbing under the sink unfinished.

She said she had to pay someone else to fix that because sewage was coming up. She even got a loan to finish the deck she said they left unfinished.

"It's pretty much a nightmare, yes. I'll have to live with it because I've given him my money and I have no money to fix it."

She said they offered tons of excuses then stopped taking her calls, so she filed a police report, posted a scam warning on Craig's list.

Records show Cheatham was convicted of embezzlement as a contractor and obtaining money through cons in the ‘80s and ‘90s.

He has warrants in Tulsa County, Rogers and Delaware Counties for similar crimes. His wife has warrants in Tulsa and Washington counties and there are dozens of judgments against them, plus pending criminal charges.

We called Cheatham and he said there's an explanation for every case and he has proof that he done the work hired to do.

He said the work at Simon's was good.

Reporter Lori Fullbright: "Mickey, I went to her house today. That work is terrible. It's awful."
Cheatham: "The work was done and she had it inspected and she was happy with it, Lori."
Reporter: "She's not happy."
Cheatham: "She was."

Simon said that is not true.

We spoke with a lawyer who said she's been hired to get reimbursement for some of Cheatham's customers, but she couldn't say how many, if any, have been paid. Cheatham told us he would do an on-camera interview on Thursday. We'll let you know.