2 Investigators

AURORA, Ill. (CBS) ― All a suburban mother wanted was a bathroom her daughter could use. Her daughter, Jennifer, is disabled; but after paying $31,000 to a contractor, all she got was a hole in her yard.

CBS 2 Investigator Dave Savini reports how that contractor's gain led to "Jennifer's Loss."

Jennifer Washington has spina bifida and needs a wheel chair to move around.

"I can't reach the sinks, I can't brush my teeth," she said. She also needs a new bathroom, one that she can access all by herself.

But the money she and her mother gave to a contractor to build one has disappeared.

Jennifer's mother, Maureen Sullivan, said she paid the contractor a total of $31,000 for the job. She got a special low-interest loan through the state for people with disabilities to add a wheel chair accessible bathroom to their Aurora home.

They put their trust in contractor Tom Ratz to do the job, but had no idea Ratz -- who owns Ex-Treme Con-Crete -- was also an ex-con. The 2 Investigators found his arrest record includes crimes involving battery, illegal drugs and theft.

"He ripped us off," Jennifer said.

"It's theft. That is a lot of money to take from somebody. … He should go to prison as far as I'm concerned," Sullivan said.

Sullivan hired Ratz in February because his was the only bid they could afford. What they got, they said, were months of delays and a yard left torn apart.

Instead of Jennifer's bathroom there was a hole in the ground that was continuously filled with standing water, creating mold and attracting mosquitoes.

They also said that the work that he did do on the foundation was so bad and uneven that they had to saw a few inches off the top just to make it level.

Ratz refused to talk to CBS 2 on camera and refused to turn over records as to what he did with all their loan money. He also didn't deny he had nine complaints with the Better Business Bureau.

CBS 2 News learned he has an F rating with the BBB.

Thanks to workers from companies, like Wacker Neuson, donating earth moving equipment; their neighbor Frank Vonderau and Anderson landscaping supply company, repairs were being made as of Monday.

They were trying to finish the job before winter with whatever donations they could raise, money that Jennifer's mother desperately needs.

"I just don't like the idea of going bankrupt," Sullivan said.

"I get angry I get upset," Jennifer added. For her, it wasn't just a new room on the back of the house, it was independence.
"He took freedom away from me," Jennifer said.

Jennifer and her mom said that Ratz convinced the bank handling the state loan to give him the majority of the money before completion of the job.

The family has reported the case to the Illinois Attorney General and Aurora Police. When the 2 Investigators contacted Ratz, he refused to say how much of Jennifer's money he had left, but he did say that he is willing to come back and finish the job.

The Attorney General's office said it is actively investigating seven cases of alleged consumer fraud involving Ratz and has determined there is potentially a pattern of fraud.

If you want to make a donation to help Jennifer, make a check out to "Frank Vonderau-Jenny Washington Benefit Fund" and mail it to:

Old Second National Bank
Aurora - Fox Valley
4080 Fox Valley Center Drive
Aurora, IL 60504

Or, you can call 630-892-0202.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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