Waller County contractor still owes $20,000 to 93-year-old Houston woman

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A 93-year-old Spring Branch woman said she fell victim to a contractor who is now accused of stealing from multiple people in Waller County.

Carlos Correa remains in the Waller County Jail with a $1 million bond after his arrest at the Houston Rodeo on Sunday.

According to the Waller County Sheriff's Office, he has judgments against him totaling more than $500,000.

SEE ALSO: Waller Co. contractor arrested at the rodeo for alleged property theft, financial abuse of elderly

Genevieve Parker said she hired him in February 2024, at her son's recommendation, to replace one of her bathtubs with a shower.

"The quality of his work for my son was very good," Parker said.

Over the course of a week, Parker said she cut Correa checks totaling $43,800.

"He kept asking for money. 'I need to get this. I need to get that,'" she said.

But Parker says she never saw what Correa was buying with the money and he never produced receipts when requested.

His first day on the job, she said he ruptured a line to her water heater.

"There was water just pouring out of the light," she said.

In early March 2024, Parker fired Correa and filed a police report.

She said Correa only paid back about half of what he owed her, so she sued him for the other half and got a default judgment when he didn't respond to the lawsuit.

"I don't think I'll get any money from him for it. He has no money. He just lives from whatever he can get from people," she said.

The money she said Correa got from her is just a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of cleaning up.

All told, she said she had to pay a second contractor $47,000 to fix Correa's mistakes and install her shower.

"I ended up in the hospital three times after that. My blood pressure, it was my blood pressure," she said.

Houston police had no updates on Thursday on their investigation into Correa.

The Waller County Sheriff's Office isn't saying how it knew to look for Correa at the rodeo.

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