A Wyomissing man faces contractor fraud charges after a Cumru Township couple complained that he failed to deliver on quartz countertops for their kitchen remodeling project for several months after they made a $2,000 down payment. Michael J. Faust, 54, of the 200 block of Kelly Drive remained free to await a hearing after arraignment June 28 before District Judge Carissa L.
Johnson in Reading Central Court. Cumu Township police Detective Brett Kolk charged him with deceptive business practices, home improvement fraud and related counts. According to the probable cause affidavit: On May 14, the couple filed a complaint with the Cumru police.
They said they discovered an ad by “Luxe Designs” offering quartz countertops for $65 per square foot. The ad stated that the countertop could be installed in seven days. They responded to an email listed in the ad.
Faust responded and eventually came to their home to make a sales pitch. He told the couple they would send someone to measure the countertops to get things started. That’s when the problems began.
Faust gave numerous excuses why he couldn’t do what he had agreed to do. Instead of having someone make the measurements with laser-guided instrument, he told the couple his “guy” was out and he would have to make the measurements the “old-fashioned way” using a foam board on which to trace the countertops. The couple used a credit card to pay $2,000 on Jan.
22 and $1,000 a week later, for a total of $3,000, for Faus.
