YORK, S.C. — A contractor who is charged with failing to build new homes and running off with his customers’ money is now in jail.
Action 9 has been reporting on Constructing Up and its owner Christian Novellino, who is charged with breach of trust.
Since his arrest, dozens more people have contacted Channel 9 claiming he ripped them off too.
Burt and Sylvie Carey say says Novellino walked away with more than $80,000 of their money.
“The house was supposed to be finished in January 2022. It’s still not finished,” Burt Carey said.
Previous coverage:
- ‘It’s terrible’: Another family sues builder Action 9 has been investigating
- ‘My stomach just dropped’: Family claims builder promised them home on land it doesn’t own
- Action 9: Another family files lawsuit against builder
- ‘Your forever home and this happens’: Another family sues builder Action 9′s been investigating
- Homebuilder Constructing Up’s license suspended in South Carolina
- Embattled home builder uses another company name
- Authorities arrest embattled homebuilder exposed by Action 9
In court on Wednesday, prosecutors claimed Novellino conned the Careys and other families intentionally.
“Mr. Novellino is not simply a bad businessman, he is a con artist and a convicted con artist,” state solicitor Matthew Hogge said.
Prosecutors say state officials suspended Novellino’s building license in 2012 after he pleaded guilty and was convicted of breach of trust in a case involving another home build. But in 2020 officials say he applied for another license through the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.
Channel 9 asked if Novellino should have been issued a building license at that time.
The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation sent Channel 9 the following statement:
“Mr. Novellino was previously licensed by the Residential Builder’s Commission. That license expired on or about June 30, 2012, prior to Mr. Novellino’s conviction in December of 2012. In 2020, Constructing Up, LLC applied for a general contractor’s license with the Contractor’s Licensing Board. As part of the application process, the Board inquired as to whether the applicant (in this case Constructing Up, LLC) or any owner, president, authorized officer, or qualifying party had been convicted, pled guilty, or nolo contendere to any felony or the offense of forgery, embezzlement, obtaining money under false pretenses, theft, extortion, or conspiracy to defraud or other like offense. Constructing Up, LLC stated in its application that no owner, president, authorized officer, or qualifying party had been convicted of any of these offenses. While Mr. Novellino signed the initial application as an authorized representative and represented that he was a Vice President for the business, there was no indication at that time that Mr. Novellino was either an owner, president, authorized officer, or qualifying party for the company. While the Board may deny licensure based on an applicant’s prior criminal convictions related to construction in accordance with the procedures set forth in S.C. Code Ann. § 40-1-140, it may not deny licensure to an applicant based solely on the criminal convictions of one of its employees.”
VIDEO: Authorities arrest embattled homebuilder exposed by Action 9
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