CAPE CORAL, Fla. — At least three Cape Coral families are out thousands of dollars after Cape Coral Police say a handyman allegedly stole the cash after being hired to do repairs on their homes.
Police arrested Robert Doerr Jr. on Wednesday, and they say he stole more than $20,000 in total from the victims.
"Mr. Doerr, I don’t know how you could sleep at night and doing this to all these people," said Karen Carvalho, allegedly scammed by Doerr. "Why are you ripping people off? Seniors don’t have all this money."
Police started their investigation after one victim came forward. Carvalho's story with Doerr started back in June 2022 after she found him on Facebook.
"This man just sat in my living room, in my dining [room] with a smile on his face," Karen said. "Made me feel so comfortable."
That's when she says he asked for $7,200 to stucco her home. The couple gave it to Doerr, right before Ian hit.
After Ian, Doerr told the couple he could finish other work for them after Ian damaged their home. He asked for another $6,000 that they gave him.
"I kept trying to get a hold of Robert," Carvahlo said "He kept telling me 'You’re on the list, you’re on the list, you’re on the list.'"
After waiting and waiting, with little to no work done, they knew something was wrong.
Meanwhile, Cape Coral Police had already started an investigation at that point.
"We were already working on the case, but code enforcement brought it to our attention as well that hey, this person could possibly be unlicensed or working outside of the scope of what they’re supposed to be doing," said Brandon Sancho, spokesperson for Cape Coral Police. "These people would pry on these vulnerable individuals in our community, and we’re not going to stand for it."
Carvalho says police got to her before she could report it. She says they found her check while investigating.
This type of crime is something Sancho says they're seeing more of.
"We definitely have seen an increase of these types of reports, especially because of the hurricane," he explained. "We have a lot of people that are outside contractors, anyone that you can think of that is coming here to help our community, try to pick up our pieces and fix things."
Doerr was local and allegedly owned Precision Painting Pros and First Home Services of Southwest Florida. According to state records, the painting license went into a voluntary dissolution in October 2022. However, the other business is still active.
"I think it hurts me more knowing he did it to others, before he did it to me," Karen said.
The couple still cannot believe something like this happened to them, and they say they tried to give him the benefit of the doubt.
"Who can you trust? I mean, the guy looked at us, straight in the face, nicest guy in the world and he rips us off," Raymond said.
Police do not believe there are other victims, but the couple wants anyone to come forward whether allegedly scammed by Doerr, or anyone else.
"Let them know that he did this. He needs to be taught a lesson," Karen said. "He needs to be responsible and face the consequences of his action and stop ripping people off."
Doerr is facing several charges including exploitation of an elderly person, scheme to defraud and grand theft.
