CLEVELAND — Victims told us they just wanted to see some homes renovated. Instead, they said they lost hundreds of thousands of dollars from a local business owner who’s now living in a comfortable condo while his former clients still suffer from their losses.
Beth Diamond said her Avon Lake home was supposed to be renovated by Elliot Taylor in the summer of 2022. She told us he started on the garage, but by October, it was hard to pin him down.
“So, every time he said he was going to come over to do measurements and things like that, he was too busy,” said Diamond.
She said she paid Taylor over $30,000, but he never returned to finish the project. She’s not the only one.
BETH WASN'T THE ONLY ONE
Jamie Brasseal from California is another former client.
“(I’m) extremely frustrated, angry,” he told us.
In September 2022, he loaned Taylor $134,000 for a home renovation in Port Clinton.
“I had no idea that this guy would just take the money and run,” said Brasseal.
He showed us Taylor’s invoices for supposed work done, but Brasseal sent us pictures saying what the house actually looks like now is a total mess nearly three years later.
“To know that there’s people out there that can do this kind of thing to other people, is pretty sad,” said Brasseal.
ANOTHER LENDER LEFT IN THE LURCH
If that wasn’t bad enough, Adam Maguire from Florida was the one who told Brasseal about Taylor.
“I feel shame for trusting (Taylor),” said Maguire.
All of that was before Taylor defaulted on more than $700,000 loaned by Maguire for several northeast Ohio homes. Projects that were never finished and then foreclosed on.
“(Taylor) just doesn’t care about anybody except himself,” McGuire told us.
ELLIOT TAYLOR'S CRIMES
Just who is this business owner/project manager? News 5 Investigators found Taylor was convicted of felonies for theft, passing bad checks in Lorain County and forgeries all from 2011-2012. And even more recently, Taylor stole former employee Giovanna Iacobacci’s identity in 2023, opened an account with Sherwin Williams, then racked up more than $12,000 in unpaid products.
“(He used) my name, my address, my social (security number),” said Iacobacci.
“And he signed your name?” we asked.
“He signed a scribble. It was a curved line…pretending to be me,” said Iacobacci.
In Iacobacci’s case, Taylor pleaded guilty to several charges, including identity fraud, securing records by deception, and aggravated theft.
“I mean at that point I was just like flabbergasted!” she told us.
The judge gave Taylor probation. According to court documents, he’s since violated probation and gotten more probation that he’s still on now.
WE TRACKED DOWN ELLIOT IN A NICE NEIGHBORHOOD
When every phone number we had for Taylor did not work, we tracked him down, not in one of his unfinished projects, but living in a nice Northeast Ohio neighborhood right next to a picturesque pond.
“I’m doing a story about your business practices and the fact that you owe a lot of people a lot of money,” we said to him at his front door. However, Taylor just closed the door and walked away.
“When are you going to pay them back?” we asked through a front window, but Taylor gave no response.
In the meantime, former clients and employees of Taylor are stepping forward to warn you.
“I think he’s a public menace based on the volume,” said Maguire.
For Iacobacci and Diamond, it all cuts a bit deeper than others.
THE NO-SO-FRIENDLY CONNECTIONS
“We were very close,” said Iacobacci about Taylor. You see, she said she and Taylor were friends for 20 years and even called him her “brother.”
“I really didn’t expect a friend to do this to me,” said Diamond about Taylor. She told us she’s known him for decades, too. A friendship now finished unlike the project she paid $30,000 for.
“We just don’t want him to hurt anybody else,” Diamond told us. “And we just want to see just a little bit of justice if possible.”
News 5 Investigators also found two of several civil judgements against Taylor totaling more than $150,000 dollars.
Diamond told us Taylor will go on Facebook pages looking for new investors and contractors. So, she and others post on those pages warning people about Taylor.
