Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today announced the former owner and president of an Evergreen Park, Illinois fencing company was sentenced to prison for scamming Cook and DuPage County residents out of more than $20,000 for work he never completed.
The Attorney General’s office prosecuted Eric Zabalza, 42, of Chicago, who pleaded guilty to eight counts of theft and three counts of home repair fraud in Cook County and one count of theft in DuPage County. Cook and DuPage County judges sentenced him to three years in prison, and Zabalza was immediately remanded into custody to begin serving his sentence.
“Illinois residents should be able to hire contractors and know that when they pay deposits for home repair projects, the work they paid for will be completed,” Raoul said. “I will continue to enforce laws that protect consumers and hold accountable bad actors who take advantage of residents by accepting payments without performing any work.”
Zabalza was owner and president of Sierra Fencing Inc., a full-service fence company located in suburban Evergreen Park. Raoul’s indictment alleged that between March and June 2021, Zabalza entered into contracts with nine Cook and DuPage County consumers, in which he agreed to install fences. Each consumer made down payments for the fence installations, totaling $20,449. However, neither Zabalza nor Sierra Fencing installed the fences.
Assistant Attorney General Robert Schwarz prosecuted the case for Raoul’s Criminal Consumer Fraud Unit.
