CAMERON, Texas — Cameron contractor, Brendan Myers, is now a wanted man after a grand jury indicted him on three charges. He's accused of taking thousands of dollars for jobs he never finished.
6 News interviewed 80-year-old Diane Yates nearly one month ago about her transaction with Myers. Yates hired Myers in November and gave him a chance because he was young and just starting out.
Flash forward to June, and now Yates is out $60,000, staying in a house that's barely livable.
"He said, 'I can have you your house fixed and you in it by Christmas,' and I was so excited," Yates said. "We spent Christmas and my birthday and the new year in a motel. It was the saddest Christmas I ever had."
Yates says she couldn't continue to live like that, so she pressed charges, opening up the door for quite a complicated investigation.
"I just don't want anybody to be scammed like I was," the 80-year-old said.
As Milam County dove head first into the situation, they found two others had been allegedly scammed, and there could be many others.
"Apparently, this has been going on at least a couple more years," First Assistant District Attorney for Milam County, Brian Price, said.
Myers currently faces three indictments as Price says the contractor has taken significant chunks of money.
While the missing money is a huge concern for many, Milam County faces another challenge. They don't know where Myers is.
"We do have warrants out for him," Price said. "If he gets arrested in another state, we will start the process to extradite him back here."
Price encourages any potential victim to come forward or contact their office. If anyone has information on where Myers may be, contact law enforcement immediately.
"We don't want people like this running around and taking money from people," Price said. "Our office especially wants to protect the people of Milam County."
Price says those who are looking for contractors should make sure the business is established and reputable. They should also read reviews and ask for references. He also recommends to not give all the money upfront.
A GoFundMe was created to help Yates, which you can find here.