Woman claims work not done
BUTLER TWP — A Slippery Rock man is accused of taking nearly $6,000 for a porch construction project at a township home that he never finished.
Michael J. Churilla, 44, was picked up on a felony arrest warrant Thursday. District Judge Bill O'Donnell arraigned him on home improvement fraud charges.
He's being held in the Butler County Prison on $5,000 bond.
The charges followed a Butler Township police investigation that began May 14 when a woman reported being defrauded, investigators said.
She told police she was looking into adding a new porch on the front of her home on Cypress Street when she came into contact with Churilla last year via a popular website that connects users with local contractors, police said.
They met and signed an agreement in June 2018 for the project. The victim paid the defendant with a personal check for $5,000, the cost for labor and materials, according to charging documents.
But he subsequently contacted her and asked if she would pay him in cash instead. Days later, the woman took back the check and handed $5,000 in currency to Churilla.
The suspect started the work in July 2018, digging two holes in front of the home for the footers. But he eventually presented an additional work order totaling $915, documents said, for which the victim paid — in cash.
Police said the woman told them that no materials were ever delivered to her home for the construction project, and she was never given a receipt for any materials supposedly purchased for the work.
She also came to learn that Churilla had allegedly never applied for a building permit with the township.
The woman recounted that after she made several failed attempts to contact the defendant by telephone, email and Facebook Messenger app, police said, he finally responded by email Sept. 5.
No further work, however, was done.
“It appears that (the victim) gave Churilla a reasonable time frame to complete the job that was promised,” the police complaint said, “before she asked for her money back due to lack of progress and contact with Churilla.”
Additionally, the defendant allegedly gave the woman a bogus address when she tried to file a civil suit against him in November 2018.
Police also noted Churilla's criminal record “shows that he has a history of committing the same fraudulent activity” as detailed in the complaint.
He is charged with felony counts of home improvement fraud and receiving stolen property. His preliminary hearing was not immediately scheduled.
Online court records did not indicate if he has an attorney.
