Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced that Eric Zabalza, the former owner and president of an Evergreen Park fencing company, has been sentenced to prison. Zabalza was found guilty of scamming residents in Cook and DuPage Counties out of over $20,000 for uncompleted work.
The prosecution by the Attorney General's office resulted in Zabalza pleading guilty to multiple counts of theft and home repair fraud. Specifically, he faced eight counts of theft and three counts of home repair fraud in Cook County, along with one count of theft in DuPage County. Judges from both counties sentenced him to three years in prison, with Zabalza immediately taken into custody to begin 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 stated. "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 associated with Sierra Fencing Inc., a fence company based in suburban Evergreen Park. According to Raoul’s indictment, between March and June 2021, Zabalza entered contracts with nine consumers from Cook and DuPage Counties for fence installations. Despite receiving down payments totaling $20,449 from these consumers, neither Zabalza nor Sierra Fencing fulfilled the agreements.
Assistant Attorney General Robert Schwarz handled the case as part of Raoul’s Criminal Consumer Fraud Unit.