Action News Troubleshooters: Contractor scams

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Donna Catalano hired CML Construction LLC back in 2014 to renovate this rental property.

She says the owner, Donato Marcello Larotonda, left her with just a shell of a home after she paid him $47,000.

"He cut the circuit breakers, took the copper tubing, took marble out of the home, he damaged the staircase," said Catalano.

A lawsuit filed by the Pennsylvania Attorney General says Larotonda "never returned to do any additional work after tearing the house apart."

And neither CML Construction nor Larotonda's previous company, Mirage Construction, Inc., ever registered as a home improvement contractor.

The lawsuit also cites complaints from other consumers.

"We're here to go after them," said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro . "We're here to hold them accountable. We're here to get restitution for people that are hurt."

Shapirol said his office is receiving a growing number of complaints against home improvement contractors- 2500 this year alone.

"We've placed a real priority on going after - you know protecting people from scams," said Shapiro . "And going after these contractors who aren't acting properly."

The Attorney General has taken action on 500 cases already this year, including the Larotonda filing and a