Contractor indicted for abuse of elderly
Posted/updated on: July 9, 2026 at 3:12 am
SMITH COUNTY – A man who was arrested in 2025 was recently indicted by a grand jury after being charged with financial abuse of the elderly. According to an arrest affidavit and our news partner KETK, 36-year-old Robert Lee, who worked as a contractor, convinced a person over the age of 65 to pay $64,000 to have their roof repaired after he and his partner convinced the homeowner that their roof was in danger of collapsing. After Lee and his partner had finished their alleged roof repairs, the homeowner had a new contractor come to the home to reevaluate the roof. The contractor informed the victim that Lee had lied to her and that the roof was in no danger of collapsing, according to authorities.
A detective from the Smith County Sheriff’s Office later arrived at the victim’s house and observed that Lee and his partner’s work appeared to have been damaged and covered with roofing tiles.
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The detective later went into the victim’s attic to better observe the work Lee had done to the roof and allegedly discovered only one new piece of plywood placed over the hole that Lee had created in the roof.
Additionally, the detective claimed the plywood was the wrong size and uneven, allowing roof tiles to be seen through the gaps.
The contractor later returned to the victim’s house and told authorities that it was evident Lee and his partner had not made any repairs to the roof, but had made a hole in it and patched it up. The contractor also stated he did not observe any issues with the roof that Lee allegedly warned the victim about.
The contractor also told officials that the $64,000 the victim paid for repairs to her roof could buy her four new roofs.
Following an investigation, Lee was arrested in Feb.2025 and charged with financial abuse of the elderly and was recently indicted for the charges by the 241st Judicial District Court in Smith County.
