Humble church still needs help

By Gregg Wendorf
Advance News Journal

The Advance News Journal published a story this past January about a Valley contractor who owed a small local church $22,000. He had promised to pay what he admitted owing, on multiple occasions, but had failed to do so.

Three months later, still nothing. I sent the contractor, Raymundo Carrizales with A One, a text the other day, letting him know I was going to publish an update in The Advance, and if he had paid any money to the church, to please let me know, and I’d alter this story.

Nada. No return text, which includes the ones he’s sent me in the past – “I’ll call you back, sir,” or, “We are working to pay but will call you.” Or these two text gems he’s sent in the past: “I’ll call you right back,” and one of my personal favorites: “I’m on the phone.”

Apparently, it’s a long phone call? How does a guy, a local contractor, basically fail to repay $22,000 he took from a small, humble church in McAllen while posting photos on social media that suggest he’s anything but broke?

The Church Project

The church, Sinai Church in McAllen, located in the 800 block of 19th Street, worked for approximately 20 years to raise money to build a fellowship hall measuring approximately 1,050 feet.

Finally, the day arrived in the summer of 2021 when the church board had raised $45,450 and contracted with Raymundo Carrizales and his company, A One, to begin construction of the hall that was supposed to cost $85,000, per contract, when the work was completely finished.

The $45,450 was listed on the signed contract as the first draw.

Approximately halfway through Phase 1, however, Carrizales quit the work, walked off the church job, but the check had already been cashed.

On July 11, 2023, approximately two years later, after multiple attempts by the church board to reach out to him, Carrizales wrote Sinai a letter, which reads (in unedited fashion): “This letter is to a response to Sinai Church; Aone is still trying to work on a solution to this specific project (the new fellowship hall). The solution of the construction of the building has already been addressed. We apologize that we could not come into terms due to our delay on other projects that brought us on being delayed with Sinai Church project.”

Hard to decipher what exactly he means, but there is more: “Aone will return a portion of money to Sinai Church so they can finish their project; the rest of the money has already been invested on the project. The total amount that will be returned will be $21,800.00 within 30 Days. Payments will be given back through out the 30 days in a Cashiers check.”

Again, that letter, which the church still has in its files, was dated July 11, 2023.

Fast forward approximately nine months, and he still owes the $21,800.

My question is, how do you stiff a church and deal with your conscience?

When The Advance got word of the missing money in November 2023, I called Raymundo Carrizales to find out if there wasn’t a way to resolve the issue. After all, I told him, the church spent 20 years raising the money, and now he had approximately half of the $45,450 in his pocket for the work left unfinished, so why wasn’t he paying back the money he promised to pay back in July (2023)?

In that phone conversation made last November, which was recorded, Carrizales told me, “We should have something to them by this week. We’re going to try and give it to them in some draws, like we had promised them.”

But, said I, you’re already four months behind your original promise you made in July.

“Yeah,” he said, “we’re just finishing some projects we had, trying to close on them, where the money is going to come from to reimburse them.”

So when do you think you’re going to pay them? I asked.

Carrizales told me that Covid had messed up a lot of his projects, so his company fell behind on certain projects, including Sinai Church. He admitted he got a draw from the church ($45,450), did some work on the fellowship hall, so he and his company weren’t too far behind on the church job.

“Yes,” I told him, “but the letter you wrote the church promising to pay back the $21,800 is dated July 2023, and now we’re into November (2023). It’s a small church. They scrimped for about 20 years to raise money for the new addition, held multiple fundraisers to raise this money, so for them, this is a big deal. But now you say you have payment plans in the works?”

He said, yes, “We’re trying to finish some work now because toward the end of the year, things get a little bit slower, and we’re trying to finish some projects so we can collect some of that money.”

Meaning, the $21,800 he promised to pay back the church in that July 2023 letter he wrote and signed?

“Yes,” he said, “we actually have something already drawn up so we can give them some (reimbursement money). We can’t pay them in full right away, but we can start giving them some payments.”

Five months later, Raymundo Carrizales and his company, A One, still hasn’t returned any of the money the church is owed.

What a deal.