ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — A local church has a warning about a contractor they say scammed them out of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Church leaders told WFTV Friday the state isn't working fast enough to protect others from becoming victims.
The St. John Missionary Baptist Church has been in Orlando 86 years, but taking a step toward the future almost wiped it out. Church leaders hired Vory Copeland, a general contractor out of Miami, and in 2007 work began on a new sanctuary.
"Until we get a call from a subcontractor saying his check had bounced for $182,000," said Jessie Windom Jr., trustee chairman.
It turns out Copeland had not been paying any subcontractors, even though the church handed him more than $400,000 in one year. It was money raised by the congregation.
"A thousand hard-working, loving people who trusted he was going to do the job and complete the job," said Pastor Rolous Frazier Jr. "It's devastating. We almost lost this church."
Copeland was arrested and charged, but you wouldn't know it on the state website that oversees contractors. Complaints aren't posted and licenses aren't pulled until a state investigation is complete.
The church is outraged it has taken three years.
A state spokesperson wouldn't comment on why it has taken so long, but in that time the church has moved on. Its new building is standing, but it's far from complete.
People who attend services worship facing an empty wall. The large, wooden cross church leaders envisioned for the alter isn't there because they can't afford it. It will be years before they recover financially or regain their faith in the state agency that was supposed to protect them.
Copeland is still awaiting trial on charges he defrauded the church. So far, he has not applied for any other building permits in Orange County.
WFTV
