Fraudulent Louisiana contractor sentenced to 18 years in prison

KPLC, By Lexie DeCastro and Jack Meyer, September 3, 2026

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) – A Louisiana contractor was sentenced to 18 years in prison after being found guilty of residential contractor fraud.

Bobby Spoonemore faced 16 felony counts after working as a contractor without a license. Spoonemore’s victims included the State of Louisiana, six people and three businesses.

Spoonemore was arrested last year after what a prosecutor called a “manhunt.” In October 2024, Judge David Ritchie refused to set a bond out of fear Spoonemore would not show up for court.

Spoonemore will be eligible for parole after six years and receive credit for two years already served. He will also have to pay roughly $274,000 in restitution to his victims.

But one victim says the damage done went far beyond the money she lost.

“The devastation that he caused left me an uninhabitable home... basically homeless now,” she said. “Thankfully, I have plenty of family and friends and resources, so of course they took me in. But I was homeless for about four years. And I had an uninhabitable home.”

She, along with other victims, says they still haven’t fully recovered financially, though Spoonemore has now been ordered to pay her $155,000.

Another victim, Candice Alexander, says the majority of his targets were elderly homeowners looking for someone to trust following Hurricane Laura.

“This is a vulnerable population he targeted,” Alexander said.

She says fraud like this can be hard to spot until it’s too late.

“Trust no one unless you contact the State Board of Licensing Contractors, because just because they tell you, just because you see a document, might not be real,” Alexander said.

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