Contractors got paid $135,000 to remodel a Miami home. They did only demolition, cops say

David J. Neal
·2 min read
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A Doral contracting couple who got half their $270,000 up front for a Miami home renovation disappeared after doing only the demolition part of the job, Miami police say.

Then again, checking Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation online records shows neither Luis Arvelo Teran nor Maria Rosales Solorzano were qualified to finish the job they’d started. They weren’t even qualified to start the job.

Among Arvelo Teran, Rosales Solorzano and their company, Luma Solutions, there isn’t one general contractor’s license.

Arvelo Teran, 34, and Rosales Solorzano, 33, were arrested together Tuesday at a Party City store in Doral. Separately, each has been charged with grand theft by a contractor, organized fraud over $50,000 and a misdemeanor for contracting without a license. Bond was set at $30,500 for each.

State records say Rosales Solorzano and Arvelo Teran registered Luma Solutions with the state on Oct. 22, 2020 with an operating address of a Brownsville home jointly owned by Mirla Gonzalez, Heberto Arvelo and Katherine Arvelo.

Arrest paperwork says Arvelo Teran and Rosales Solorzano agreed on Sept. 15, 2022 to charge Miami homeowner John Thomas $270,000 for “an entire home remodel with a new addition” on his 1926-built home at 562 NW 50th St. They got half, $135,000, up front with the rest to be paid at agreed upon construction milestones.

Demolition of the home’s inside, the arrest report said, took place on Nov. 14, 2022.

“After several weeks, no one returned,” the arrest report said. “[Thomas’] home was left in an uninhabitable state.

“After an absence of any work, [Thomas] began to research Luma Solutions and discovered the defendants weren’t qualified to perform any of the work they were hired to perform due to the fact that they’re not licensed.”

Miami police’s Financial Crimes Unit asks others who think they might be victims of Arvelo Teran and Rosales Solorzano or know other victims to the unit at 305-603-6280 or, to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade & the Florida Keys, online or by calling 305-471-8477 (TIPS).