PUEBLO — A News 5 investigative report from earlier this year has caught the attention of detectives with the Pueblo Police Department.
A criminal investigation is now open against Randy Cody, the owner of Cody's Upholstery Shop on S. Union.
Multiple customers allege Cody took their money and furniture, but failed to complete the work. In some cases, customers say they haven't been given a refund or their furniture back.
Our investigation started with a news tip from Colette Kramer, a customer who took her La-Z-Boy chair to get re-upholstered at Cody's. We quickly found out there were many other customers with similar stories----all claiming Cody was quick to take their money and furniture, but always had an explanation why he couldn't do the work or provide a refund.
"He had every excuse in the book which included death in the family, illness in the family, a broken wrist, visits to the hospital, COVID, no one coming to work, materials not available, correct materials not being sent, a one-man-band, a dead body behind his shop that he had to spend the whole day with the police about," Kramer stated as she read off all the reasons she says Cody provided her.
We introduced you to Kramer and three other customers who had similar problems with Cody's Upholstery back in Aprill 2021.
"Randy Cody took my chair and ottoman plus $1,700," Joyce Thompson said in our previous report.
Beverly Bailey is another unhappy customer.
"Cody's Upholstery has my chair and $400 and I'd like them back," she said in this report.
Janet Guarienti says she too has had issues with Cody's Upholstery.
"He ignores (phone) calls," she said. "He just tells me he's been sick."
Janet says she eventually got her chairs back that she had taken to Cody's Upholstery for repair, but alleges the work was not done properly.
News 5 Investigates set up an appointment with Cody earlier this year to address all of these customer-related issues.
"This whole ordeal has been hard on everybody," Cody said. "I've had suppliers shut down. It's harder to get products. I put in long hours and I haven't felt well."
At the time we met Cody at his shop, he gave us multiple reasons for not completing the jobs he was paid for in advance.
After our original broadcast aired, News 5 started receiving additional phone calls and emails from other customers who claim they got ripped off by Cody's Upholstery.
"He still has my stuff and I probably have about $3,000 into it," one customer said.
News 5 Investigates received about a dozen voicemails with complaints.
"You can add me to the list of people who got ripped off," another customer said. "He got about $1,500 from us and he's never returned our sofa or ottoman."
We also received a handful of emails and connected with new alleged victims who say they've had a hard time getting Cody to make things right.
"I contacted him in November of last year," Ronni Owens said. "He came out and I gave him a deposit. In January, he came and took the furniture and I haven't seen him since."
Owens says she's out more than $3,400 after paying Cody to re-upholster an Ethan Allen sofa. To date, she says she's only received two cushions and a foot ottoman back. She says she has no idea where her sofa ended up.
"I was under the impression it (the sofa) would be (done) in three weeks," she said. "It turned into two months, then six months."
Now, a year later, she still has no refund and would like her money and sofa back.
"We went down with two officers to his business and he wouldn't unlock the door," she said. "Shortly after that, the shop closed and it was vacant."
News 5 Investigates went in-person to follow up with Cody at his upholstery shop last month. We found the store was empty and no forwarding address was available.
Cody's shop is listed "for rent". We reached out to the realtor in charge of the listing and we were told they don't know where Cody has moved.
Meanwhile, we confirmed this month that Pueblo Police have opened a criminal investigation into Cody's business practices.
Detectives are currently interviewing many of the alleged victims we've spoken with both on and off camera.
Anyone who has had issues with Cody's Upholstery should contact Det. Brandon Colbert with the Pueblo Police Department at 719-553-2478.
As new information becomes available on this case, we'll be sure to pass it along to you.
Have a problem or issue you'd like our investigative team to look into? Email us: News5Investigates@KOAA.com
