Convicted contractor on parole for stealing from Harvey victims under investigation for new crimes

Thursday, March 26, 2026
HEMPSTEAD, Texas (KTRK) -- A contractor who's still on parole for stealing from Hurricane Harvey victims out of money is under investigation for a series of new crimes in Waller County.

Benjamin Wood was arrested on March 20 on a theft charge but has since bonded out.

Since posting about the arrest on Facebook, the Waller County Sheriff's Office said five more possible victims have come forward.

Jerre Green says she's one of them.

Last May, she said she hired Wood to clean her pool, unaware of his past convictions.



"He kind of throws in the 'I can relate to you' kind of thing and 'I'm a good guy,'" said Green.

Green said Wood showed up weekly for the first month, but then his visits became infrequent.

"When he told us he couldn't do the work 'cause he was having back surgery and then I actually called him pretending to be a customer and oh, he was ready to come out and do the work right away," said Green.

The Waller County Sheriff's Office began investigating on March 6 when another woman told deputies she paid Wood more than $1,100 to build a water slide for her pool.

She told Eyewitness News the slide was never built.



In all, the Waller County Sheriff's Office said Wood has been arrested 17 times for theft, credit card fraud, and forgery.

When Eyewitness News visited Wood's Spring home, a woman said he wasn't there.

In 2020, he was convicted of theft in Montgomery and Harris counties.

In Harris County, prosecutors say he swindled $180,000 from 26 people.

In Montgomery County, they say he passed bad checks to customers and subcontractors. They said he even used a bad $33,000 check to buy a truck.



Wood was sentenced to 10 years in prison but was paroled less than two years into his sentence.

"You would have thought him getting released during Covid, here's your chance to start over, this was your second chance," said Green.

On Friday morning, Green said she plans to file her own theft report with the Waller County Sheriff's Office.

They're urging other victims to call them at 979-826-8282 ext. 4125.

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