NEW ALBANY, Ind. (WDRB) -- The windows on the side and front of Stacie Conard's house in New Albany all needed to be replaced after a storm in August 2022. 

A wind and hail storm caused them to bow and a few to be busted out entirely, so Conard wrote a $16,000 check to Power Home Exteriors to avoid a four-month wait for repairs.

"They assured me within two weeks they could have my windows ordered, delivered and installed," she said Tuesday. "They said they had their own company, their own warehouse. They were gonna make them there on site, and that's the only reason I ended up going with this company."

And three days later, the check cleared.

"I started thinking things were not quite right when they showed up five times to measure," she said.

After that, Conard said, it was excuse after excuse. Text messages show someone with the company even asked her for another $500.

"I started to get ghosted on the text messages, the phone calls. I started getting excuses," she said. "No one would show up when they said they were gonna show up. The windows never came. They kept telling me they were pushed, and then, at one point, the text messages just stopped."

Indiana State Police announced last week they arrested 29-year-old Shawn Ray Hull from Buffalo, Kentucky, and charged him with felony theft. Troopers said another victim in Washington County, Indiana, paid the company $7,000 to replace windows.

"People need to be aware if somebody asks for money up front, be very leery of that," ISP Sgt. Carey Hulls said Tuesday. "Do your own investigation. Make sure that you've vetted the company to make sure it's a proper company."

Since putting her information out there, Conard said she's found several others dealing with the same problem.

"They have scammed not just me. We found five other people," she said. "I know there's more out there. I've seen the reviews. So, hopefully, they'll see this and get help too."

Hull has had trouble with the law before. Just a few months ago, he pleaded guilty to theft in Kentucky and was ordered to pay someone else in Hart County $7,000.

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