SEYMOUR — A Seymour woman won a $52,000 judgment against a contractor who allegedly started a home improvement job and then ghosted her.
Whether the woman will receive the money she is owed remains to be seen.
The judgment, handed down by Judge Arthur Hiller on Oct. 17 Milford Superior Court, ordered Victor Zelaya and Chantel Barrio to pay $52,889 to Seymour homeowner Madeline Porell.
This is in addition to $14,500 that Zelaya and Barrios have already paid as part of a prejudgment remedy, which was ordered by Judge Hiller last year.
Porell alleged that Barrio’s company, Rebirth Home Improvement LLC, refused to return her deposit of $19,900 for a refurbishing job after failing to complete it.
Zelaya allegedly acted as a salesperson on behalf of the company, despite his license having previously expired.
In November 2021, he sent subcontracted workers to begin demolition work on Porell’s basement, the first step of a fourteen-part job. While there, the workers allegedly left cut electrical wires hanging and drove a nail through an oil pipe, rupturing the line.
When Porell’s daughter reached out to Zelaya about the oil line, he sent another worker who failed to fix the issue, and she subsequently had to hire a separate repair company to fix it.
Then Zelaya disappeared, according to court documents filed by the plaintiff.
Porell and Dlugokenski spent the next several months asking Zelaya for a refund on the deposit. He allegedly refused, saying that he didn’t have the money anymore, and offered to pay back in installments, but Porell’s daughter declined.
When it became apparent Zelaya would not be paying them back, the family met with him to discuss the idea of finishing the job. The work did not resume after the meeting, and Porell chose to pursue legal action to recuperate her costs.
From the first court date, in August 2022, to the last, Zelaya and Barrio did not appear in court.
Seymour police opened a criminal investigation into Zelaya and Barrio after they missed their first court date.
Zelaya and Barrio were both arrested in October 2022 and charged with violation of home improvement contractor requirements. Zelaya was also charged with second-degree larceny, a felony.
Both cases are pending in the Derby Superior Court.
Zelaya, who is from Honduras and does not have American citizenship, could face deportation if convicted.
During the criminal investigation, Zelaya alleged in an interview with Detective Christa Ventura that he had subcontracted the work after falling ill and learning his wife, Barrio, had a tumor.
He said he took several months off of work and used the money he owed his clients to make ends meet during that time. He said he had been brought to the brink of bankruptcy.
During this interview, he admitted to the detective that his clients “deserve every penny” of the $19,900 he owed them.
The homeowner received a judgment of more than $50,000 because state law allows triple damages in theft cases.
The payments to Porell are to be made in the amount of $35 weekly, according to the judgment. At $35 a week, it would take Zelaya and Barrio twenty-nine years to pay off the balance.
Zelaya and Barrio are due back in court Oct. 27 on the criminal charges. Lawyers for Zelaya and Porell did not respond to requests for comment on this story.
