FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A contractor is facing criminal charges in Forsyth County after a family says he failed to complete their dream home.
Tamara Stevens says she hired Joseph Wilch to build a custom home on Lake Lanier. But soon, deadlines began slipping, and Stevens started receiving calls about liens.
“That’s when the alarm bells went off. We really started panicking and knew something was going on,” Stevens explained.
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She told Channel 2’s Brittany Kleinpeter that she confronted Wilch, but ultimately had to take legal action to terminate the contract and complete the home herself.
“We ended up paying all the subcontractors and covering materials that we had already paid Joseph for—an additional $500,000 that was unaccounted for. We finished the project ourselves in March, and in April, I contacted the sheriff’s department,” Stevens said.
Wilch was arrested by the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office on theft by conversion and forgery charges.
Since coming forward, Stevens says other alleged victims have reached out, claiming they were also left in the lurch by Wilch.
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Patrick Elliott, who had previously worked with Wilch and later hired him to renovate a home in Kirkwood, says he also ended up with an unfinished project due to missing permits.
“Once we confirmed with the city that there were no permits, a nightmare began. We had an 80% finished house. I had to step in as a general contractor and finish the work myself, which cost far more than originally projected,” Elliott said.
Elliott filed a report with the Atlanta Police Department but says no action has been taken.
While Stevens says she hopes to recover some of her money, her larger goal is to push for consumer protections.
“One of the things I plan to do during the legislative session in January is meet with friends in the state Senate and House to discuss stronger consumer protections,” she said.
Kleinpeter reached out to Joseph Wilch for comment, but he declined to respond.
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