- Luis Borunda, 48, was arrested and accused of scamming a woman out of more than $100,000.
- He was arrested for investigation of communications fraud and theft by deception in Utah County.
- Borunda was previously charged with the same crimes in Salt Lake County.
LONE PEAK — A Midvale man currently facing charges accusing him of taking money for contract work that he didn't finish — and doesn't have a license for — has been arrested in Utah County and accused of scamming a woman out of more than $100,000.
Luis Borunda, 48, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of communications fraud and theft by deception.
In December, Borunda was charged in a separate case in the 3rd District Court with communications fraud and theft by deception, second-degree felonies, and acting as a contractor without a license, a class A misdemeanor.
In that incident, Borunda was paid $31,000 for a remodeling project in South Jordan and "completed approximately 20% of the job, then stopped responding," according to charging documents.
Prosecutors also say Borunda provided the homeowner with a business license number belonging to a local company. Investigators contacted the company's owner, who said he does not know Borunda and that Borunda has never worked for him, the charges state. However, the owner also stated that "he has previously been contacted about Borunda from other law enforcement agencies regarding similar issues," according to charging documents.
Borunda has been cited in the past by the Division of Professional Licensing "for working as a contractor without a license after taking money from others, then failing to finish projects," the charges state.
According to a police booking affidavit filed Wednesday, about the same time the previous charges were being investigated, Borunda began dating a woman in Utah County. More than a year after they began seeing each other, Borunda told the woman that $100,000 had been stolen from his bank account, the affidavit states.
"Having been friends for about a year and a half, (the woman) agreed to loan him $21,000," according to police.
About a month later, the woman gave him another $30,000, followed by an additional $75,000 after Borunda said he had an offer to invest in a flip home, the affidavit states.
"Luis continued to request more money from (the woman) for unseen problems with the home that would come up over the next seven months. (She) took out a (home equity loan) on her home to support Luis and protect her investment," according to the affidavit.
Investigators then discovered, by reviewing financial documents provided by the woman and by contacting another alleged victim, that the woman "was the victim of Luis Borunda's fraud," police said.
