Altoona contractor accused of $23K home improvement fraud: ‘Rob Peter to pay Paul’

ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — An Altoona contractor allegedly dug himself deep after a couple said they paid for an addition to their home that was barely worked on.

Herman E. Lardieri III, 53, was charged with home improvement fraud after allegedly accepting a down payment of $23,500 from a couple in Oct. 2025 and only getting as far as hiring a third-party company to dig the footers for the extension.

According to the criminal complaint, the couple signed a contract with Lardieri, who was doing business as Lardieri Construction LLC, to build a bedroom with a half bath addition to their Altoona home. This included the down payment, which Lardieri allegedly cashed.

Lardieri then hired Roberts Four Seasons to begin the excavation, according to charging documents, which was the only work to be completed. The couple alleged that Lardieri continued to tell them work would continue “soon” before discontinuing contact and never returning the down payment.

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