"It's him that I needed protecting from," Yukon woman claims public adjuster stole insurance check
YUKON, Okla. (KFOR) – A Yukon woman said she’s been living in a hotel for months, while mold continues to grow in her home.
She claims she’s out of money to fix it because her public adjuster allegedly stole the insurance check.
“This is my dream home and a living nightmare right now,” said Niccole Fike.
Right before Christmas, a pipe burst in Fike’s new home and flooded it with three inches of water.
“You can see on the tub how high the water was, where it’s kind of raised around the entire house,” said Fike.
Since then, little work has been done. No room in the home is livable. Fike said that’s a whole other problem.
“This whole shower is covered in black mold and the insulation is still falling out,” said Fike as she showed KFOR the shower and other areas in the home. “They just put the drywall up over the black mold that’s still there.”
“When they first took the insulation and drywall out,” said Fike. “There was a butter container that was holding up this light and they just drywalled back over it.”
The first time homebuyer said she hired Zachery Davis, with Legacy Public Adjusters in El Reno, to ensure she got the $47,000 needed to fix the home. Fike said the plan was for Davis to send that check to her mortgage company.
A few weeks later, she got a call from the contractor who allegedly told her he had not been paid.
"They might have to put a lien on my house because I owe him almost $4,000 for labor materials that were not taken care of," said Fike.
Then Fike said she started putting the pieces together.
"Ends up being that the public adjuster I hired put the money into his account," said Fike. "He had a fake forged stamp that he used to stamp it, saying that he was my Freedom Mortgage Company."
"He never gives me any invoices, any receipts, any proof of payment," said Fike.
Fike said to this day, her mortgage company continues to ask for the check.
Davis told KFOR the check was sent, endorsed, and sent back to him. Now the funds are on hold over a technicality over the large amount of the check.
Davis said he is still trying to get Fike's home fixed.
However, Fike doesn't buy it.
"He told me I needed to be protected from the insurance company. It's him that I needed protecting from," said Fike.
Now, her out-of-state relatives are coming to help her make at least one room livable, using money from her savings.
Canadian County deputies confirm she has filed a report. They are investigating.
To make matter worse, Fike said her home was broken into Saturday night. The thief stole important documents from her safe and family jewelry. She said they also opened all the doors and left all the lights on.
If you'd like to help Fike and her two sons get back into their home, you can donate here.