Butler man facing charges, accused of home improvement scam

Butler state police are filing charges against Billy Abrams, of Butler, who is accused of a home improvement scam. He was hired through his business, Billy’s Plumbing and Heating.

State police said several victims hired Abrams to complete work that was never started or finished.

One victim said he hired Abrams to replace two furnaces at his apartment building and paid him more than $3,600 up front, but that Abrams never finished the job.

”He installed the first furnace. I paid him for the installation but when it came time to put the second furnace in, there is no Billy Abrams. He vanished, he just quit returning my phone calls,” said Dan Koebler.

Another victim had a similar story, saying he paid Abrams $4,800 to replace a furnace in his home last fall, but Abrams never did.

Both victims said Abrams claimed the furnace came in damaged and he had to order a new one. But then they never heard from Abrams again.

”He just took the money and ran. We are talking furnaces and as everyone knows, it’s wintertime. It’s not like the guy was installing a deck where you can be without. These weren’t repairs. It was a replacement,” said Koebler.

State police said Abrams was paid for several jobs that were never completed and now he faces several charges including theft by deception.

“This puts extreme hardship, not only on me but other individuals. Billy Abrams or any contractor that does that to an individual, they know what they are doing and they should be held accountable,” said Koebler.

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