A victim is speaking out about a Lauderdale County contractor who she says scammed her out of more than $100,000.
Beverly Jeffers had big plans for the plot of land she had purchased next to her childhood home.
"This is my dad's land. It's always been home, and we were hoping to come back home and make it home again," Jeffers said.
She said they thought everything would be great, "but it didn't happen that way."
To get her family's new home built, Jeffers contacted Joel Lamar, whose family she had known for more than 15 years. Her construction loan cost more than $100,000, but everything appeared legitimate and professional when dealing with Lamar's business, so she felt she had no reason to worry.
That is, until Lamar stopped answering her calls in December. Jeffers believed Lamar blocked her, so she went to the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office.
She quickly learned she wasn't alone.
"He's scammed quite a few people," Lt. Andy Corbett from the Lauderdale County Office told Â鶹Çø. "They would pay him for those materials, and then he would never deliver, work was never done, crews were never sent out ... basically, he just took the money and ran."
The Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office said multiple people have accused Lamar of stealing thousands of dollars' worth of construction loans. More victims are coming forward, and the loans could total more than half a million dollars.
Meanwhile, Jeffers said, her family is still paying loans and bills for a home that does not exist, and they have had to make some serious life changes because of this ordeal. She is worried about her family's future and what this financial loss will mean for them.
"He's not thought about the lives he's ruined, you know. We've had to worry about, 'Are we going to lose everything we've got? Are we going to lose our land?'" Jeffers said. "I want him to pay for what he's done, not only to us but to everyone else."
Lamar is still on the run from law enforcement, and the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office asks for anyone with knowledge of his whereabouts to please call .Ìý
