SOUTH GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) – The State Police in Wilton are receiving a steady flow of complaints about a local modular home sales office.
They say it began after our story about Valued Home aired this week and now more alleged victims are coming forward.
It all started out with a gift.
“We were gifted the land by my in-laws. Very kind of them to give us this land.”
Kris Marotta and her husband decided to place a modular home on the gifted Scotia property.
So, they went to Valued Homes in South Glens Falls where Kris says they handed over a deposit to owner Sherrie Burton.
“We have her $20,000. She said we’d be in our home by Thanksgiving.”
The holidays came and went. So did winter and spring.
“I called Valued Homes nobody answered.”
Then she called the manufacturer and got some very bad news.
Kris says they didn’t even know who they were and they didn’t receive their $20,000. When she went to Valued Homes, she says Owner Sherrie Burton didn’t have the money to give her.
Her story sounds very familiar to scores of other former Valued Homes customers who have now filed complaints with the New York State Police and the Attorney General’s Office.
Burton has been in trouble before. In the 1990’s, she pleaded guilty to federal charges of falsifying loan applications.
By phone, she says she had recently filed for bankruptcy, although we could not find any evidence of that.
Andrew Lewis says Burton never made good on a promise to complete the work on his grandmother’s home. She’s still living in a motel.
“This was her dream,” Lewis said.
As for Kris and her family, they’re still living with her in-laws.
“For $20,000, I got some blueprints. My money’s gone.”
She’s now trying to think positive.
She is looking forward to the arrival of a new home that they also put a down payment on. This time, they went with another company.
NEWS10 ABC reached out to Sherrie Burton again for comment but didn’t hear back.
If you feel you were taken advantage of by Valued Homes, New York State Police and the attorney general’s office asks that you to give them a call.
So, what do you do if you find yourself in a similar situation with a builder or contractor, especially if they say they’ve filed for bankruptcy.
We posed that question to Tully Rinckey Attorney Mario Cometti:
“I would say to everyone, don’t stop because someone says they’ve filed for bankruptcy. Because number one they may be lying and even if they do, you do have some opportunities and recourse in the bankruptcy proceeding to possibly get some of your money back.”
