Arizona business owners say “fake architect” took their money and disappeared

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — From weightlifting to fast-paced cardio, Jeremy Jones says he loves reworking folks’s our bodies and minds. “From a health standpoint and simply serving to folks basically, I at all times say we get to assist folks by way of the automobile of health,” Jeremy advised On Your Facet inside his fitness center.

Jeremy has operated his exercise middle, Funktional Health, for 14 years in Gilbert. He says the enterprise has been so profitable that he’s outgrown his present location and needs to maneuver to a brand new and bigger place. “It’s going to be model spanking new. Fashionable and huge open.”

Jeremy even has computer-generated renderings hanging on a fitness center wall illustrating precisely what he envisions his new health middle will seem like. “We’re going to have good entry and cardio right here and outdoors may have synthetic turf and we’ll have chilly tubs,” he mentioned.

To get issues began, Jeremy employed an architect a yr and a half in the past to attract up plans for contractors so he might receive permits. Development was supposed to begin just a few months in the past. “Again in September of 2020 we employed a man by the identify of Ivo Badilla and it turned out to be one of many greatest errors we ever made,” Jeremy mentioned.

His full identify is Ivonek Badilla, and he runs a enterprise known as Evo12th Road Designs. Jeremy says he wired Badilla and his firm over $28,000 to get the job began and even signed a contract. “So that is Ivo Badilla, the con artist himself,” Jeremy mentioned as he confirmed us an image he discovered on the Web.

In keeping with Jeremy, the one factor he bought for $28,000 from Badilla have been two computer-generated renderings. “These are fairly expensive footage,” On Your Facet’s Gary Harper mentioned. “Sure, they’re very costly,” Jeremy replied.

On Your Facet bought concerned and tried to trace down Badilla at his Scottsdale residence. Badilla has a doorbell digital camera, and nobody answered the door. However after we left, we found troubling information.

The Arizona Board of Technical Registration licenses and regulates architects. However Badilla’s identify and his enterprise Evo twelfth Road Designs usually are not registered.

It seems that extra victims inform On Your Facet that they gave Badilla cash for structure, and he vanished with their cash. A kind of victims is Mike Biesemeyer. “What did you get for $12,500 from this so-called architect?” Harper requested. “Completely nothing,” he mentioned.

Mike needed to broaden his firm and handed over greater than $12,500 to Badilla to attract up plans, however Badilla vanished with the cash. “After I gave him the cash, he went down the street and stored them and giving excuses after 3 to five weeks, after which he went silent on me,” Mike defined.

As for enterprise house owners like Mike and Jeremy and others, they agree that small losses right here and there are a part of doing enterprise. However voluntarily handing over giant sums of money and trusting in somebody shouldn’t be a part of a profitable enterprise mannequin.

“What do you suppose he’s doing together with your cash? Harper requested. Jeremy replied, “Effectively, based mostly on issues I’ve seen on social media, I’ve seen him out at black tie occasions and good eating places in Scottsdale. So, I couldn’t assist however surprise, ‘Whose cash is paying for that?’”

Figuring out On Your Facet was investigating, the pretend contractor emailed me saying he plans on beginning a cost plan with Jeremy. We’ll let you recognize if the primary cost is made, and whether it is, how a lot.

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