Homeowners say the contractor they hired lied and cheated them out of thousands of dollars.

Remember this name: Mike Chavda.

People who meet Mike call him professional, pleasant -- even charming. But today, those same people refer to Mike Chavda as a thief and con artist.

But according to a KIRO 7 Consumer Investigation, Chavda is a slippery character with a pattern of deceit that goes back at least seven years.

David Quinlan: "Hey Mike, I'm David Quinlan with KIRO 7. I didn't know if you wanted to comment about the forgery charge you're facing."

Chavda: "No, I don't."

Mike Chavda didn't have to much to say to us and he didn't have much to say when he walked into a King County courtroom charged with forgery.

You see, Mike Chavda calls himself a granite contractor. But he doesn't have a license and he's accused of ripping off nearly a dozen consumers.

Donna Smith paid Chavda more than $8,000.

"He's in the business of screwing people," said Smith.

And Lee Knoch gave Chavda almost $6,000.

"I've never been ripped off by anybody before," said Lee.

Both families hired the so-called contractor to install granite countertops inside their newly-remodeled homes.

"They damaged my walls, they damaged my floors, they had glue on my floors," said Smith.

Smith paid Chavda to install countertops in her kitchen and bathroom. But after eight months, Chavda simply walked away, leaving the project incomplete.

Quinlan: "You paid for this piece of granite here? Almost 800 bucks? And now it sits in your garage?"

Smith: "Yes."

Knoch: "We thought we were lucky."

And Lee Knoch says he paid Chavda to install granite inside his home. According to Lee, Chavda took the money and ran.

"We were scammed. We were substantially ripped off," said Knoch.

According to a KIRO 7 Consumer Investigation, Chavda does have a criminal record. He was convicted of felony theft seven years ago.

And today, more than a half dozen complaints have been lodged against him from the Washington State Attorney General.

And how about the Better Business Bureau? Well, the BBB slapped Mike Chavda with an F.

Then there's the Washington Department of Labor. Chavda has been cited four times for working without a license.

"He's been working the last three years with no regard to the law. He knows he needs to be registered as a contractor. He doesn't have a bond. He doesn't have insurance," said Shari Purves-Reiter with the Department of Labor and Industries.

But that didn't stop Mike Chavda. No, he kept on working. Illegally.

In June, he was arrested by the Bellevue Police Department, accused of stealing and forging a customer's check.

According to court documents, Chavda swiped the check from a kitchen drawer, made it payable to himself for more than $3,000 and cashed it at a local bank.

Quinlan: "I had some questions about your company...."

We caught up with Mike Chavda at the King County Courthouse.

Quinlan: "These people say that you came over there, you took checks, you forged checks, you ripped them off several thousand dollars, you didn't do the work, you did a bad job on the work you did do, and you weren't even registered with the state! So what were you doing?"

Chavda: "Like I said, I really can't say anything until I talk to an attorney. But I'm here to take care of things."

David: "OK. Do you have any remorse for all these folks?"

Chavda: "Absolutely. Absolutely."

Quinlan: "Here's your chance …for all those folks out there who say you ripped them off -- what would you like to tell them?"

Chavda: "Well, I'm making ways of whatever needs to be done to solve the problems."

Quinlan: "Are you going to pay them back?"

Chavda: "When I can, yeah..."

"He should be thrown out of town," said Smith.

"Just stop him before he hurts any more people," Knoch said.

Smith and Knoch know they'll never see their money again. They're OK with that, they say - just as long as Chavda gets the justice he deserves.

Smith: "He'll get his, he'll get his." According to our investigation, Chavda owes in the neighborhood of $25,000 to consumers and other granite businesses.

Chavada faces one count of theft and one count of forgery - -- both felonies. If convicted, he could spend nine months in jail.

Chavda is due in court in December.

Check out a contractor on the Labor & Industries Web site here or here.