On Tuesday, a criminal investigation by Indiana State Police Detective Josh Maller resulted in the arrest of Dennis Sanders, 60, Kokomo. Indiana State Police Master Trooper Lee Williams served Sanders with a Miami Superior Court II arrest warrant alleging felony charges for corrupt business influence, two counts of home improvement fraud, and three charges of theft. Sanders also faces a misdemeanor charge for home improvement fraud. Master Trooper Williams served the warrant at the Howard County Jail where Sanders is currently being held on unrelated charges.
In August 2019, Maller started an investigation after receiving information that Sanders had allegedly committed home improvement fraud in Miami County. During the course of the investigation, it was revealed that Sanders was the owner of a business called Ace Handyman based in Kokomo. On three separate occasions, Miami County homeowners contacted Sanders after seeing an Ace Handyman add in a newspaper advertising home repair services. Sanders allegedly provided the residents with estimates and agreed to do home repairs for them.
Sanders is alleged to have taken down payments for materials and work to be performed. In all three cases the agreed upon tasks were not completed. Some of the tasks that were worked on, had such poor craftsmanship it made the homeowners original damage worse. The investigation also revealed that Sanders purportedly overcharged individuals as well as suggest repairs to things that did not need to be fixed. Sanders is also alleged to have damaged homeowner’s property to back his claims of needed repairs.
Sanders allegedly scammed a total of approximately $14,000 in the three cases.