Cape Coral family warns of unlicensed contractor

Thousands of dollars of cash paid and not a bit of work done. That’s what one Cape Coral grandmother is dealing with as she tries to recover from Hurricane Ian.

Josefa Damisch has lived in her Cape Coral home for more than 40 years. It’s her safe place, her sanctuary. But within the same year, she lost her late husband and then suffered major damage during Ian.

Veronica Ramirez is Josefa’s granddaughter. She’s watched as her grandmother adjusted to a new way of life.

“After my grandfather passed away, she’s been taking care of the big work that he would normally take care of,” Ramirez admitted.

Ramirez grew up visiting her grandmother in her home. Now, she’s fighting to make it whole again.

“Horrible,” Ramirez remarks about the experience her family has had making fixes after Ian. “It’s been horrible. It’s been time consuming.”

During Ian, the pool cage was ripped out of Josefa’s pool deck, creating cracks, chipping at foundation and peeling away metal trim. She says while discussing her issues at a family friend’s party last year, a man named George Mora joined the conversation.

“He immediately, oh, I can help you with that,” Ramirez claims, remembering her grandmother’s experience. “He jumped on it!”

Mora claimed he was a contractor. Ramirez told WINK that Mora showed up at Josefa’s house unannounced.

“He maybe took measurements,” Ramirez details. “He gave her an estimate and said it was going to be a seven thousand dollar down payment.”

Mora took the seven grand as a down payment. That was back in late December, but more than three months later, no progress has been made.

“For her, it’s sleepless nights,” Ramirez describes. “And just waking up sad, stressed, overwhelmed, not knowing what to do. And after she gave him seven thousand in cash… where’d he go?”

The family has no contract to show for the agreement with Mora, with a small handwritten note and text messages between Mora and Ramirez as the only apparent proof of the transaction.

Investigative reporter Peter Fleischer tried to track George Mora down. He called the phone number that Mora has used to text Ramirez, and the number listed on Mora’s business registration with the state.

Fleischer also visited the address listed for Mora’s business: Mora’s Custom Designs and Consulting Inc. During two separate visits, Fleischer knocked on the locked front door multiple times, but no one came out. A nearby business nearby told Fleischer that they never see Mora, and haven’t seen bulk supplies get delivered.

When her grandmother couldn’t make contact with Mora, Ramirez did some research online and found negative reviews of his work.

“People are like, he belongs in jail,” Ramirez recounts. “He doesn’t deserve this, he owes me this.”

After giving him more than a week to answer, Fleischer never got a response from Mora. At one point, Mora committed to returning the money, but then suddenly stopped responding to Ramirez as well.

“I don’t know what he’s doing. It’s really frustrating,” Ramirez admits. “I would love to get the money back for my grandmother… I don’t recommend anybody to find or deal with this person, at all.”

A warning from an unfortunate personal experience.

NOTE: On the morning that this story was scheduled to air, Ramirez says Mora reached out, claiming he hopes to have her money by the end of the week. Fleischer will continue to monitor this story and provide updates on-air and online.