A Calgary homeowner says she lost thousands of dollars after hiring a contractor for a home renovation project that was never completed as promised, in a case that has led to a criminal fraud charge.
Crystal Arnold, who lives in the city’s southeast Deer Ridge neighbourhood, said she and her husband decided this past spring to finally renovate the front hall of their home after putting off the project for a decade. They found a contractor identifying himself only as “Ralph” through a website that connects homeowners with renovation professionals.
Arnold said the contractor quoted the couple $16,000 for the job, and they paid a $3,000 deposit. She said she grew suspicious after the contractor later asked for an additional $5,000 to order supplies. When she pressed him for a start date, Arnold said he accused her of being difficult, failed to show up on a scheduled day, and stopped responding to text messages. She said the store names he gave for the supposed supply order also turned out to be inconsistent.
Police Investigation and Charges
According to the Calgary Police Service, its officers investigated the case over several months after determining that Arnold had paid a total of $8,000 upfront to the contractor she had hired online. Investigators found that Arnold and the contractor had agreed not to proceed with the work and that she had asked for her money back, but did not receive the full amount despite repeated attempts to contact him.
Police say the contractor’s real name is Omar Ghandour. He was arrested on Sept. 30 and charged with fraud over $5,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 29.
Prior Consumer Protection Alert
The Consumer Investigations Unit within the Alberta government had already issued a consumer protection alert about Ghandour in 2021, warning Albertans about him. That alert remains active and states he had previously been charged with multiple offences under Alberta’s consumer protection laws.
In a statement, Alberta’s Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction ministry said no one deserves to be defrauded and urged Albertans to remain vigilant when hiring contractors, pointing to the government’s Consumer Alerts page as a resource. The ministry said consumer alerts are issued for a reason and should be taken seriously by the public.
Broader Fraud Trends
The Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre reported that, as of June 30, nearly 10,000 people in Canada had been victims of fraud, with losses totalling more than $350 million. Calgary police are asking anyone who has suffered a financial loss or had personal information compromised due to fraud to report it to the Calgary Police Service or Crime Stoppers, while people who receive fraudulent texts, emails or calls without a financial loss are asked to report them to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
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