After years of suffering due to a home repair scam that cost them their savings, Atlanta couple Dorothy and George Williams are preparing for a happy holiday season in their newly renovated home – thanks to help from a very famous angel.
The nightmare started back in 2021, when a man named Steven Chastain, offered to help Mr. and Ms. Williams make repairs to their home. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Chastain, who claimed to be a contractor, told the couple he could do the job for $147,000. The Williams then took out a loan to pay Chastain, who disappeared with $60,000 of the Williams’ money and left their home completely gutted.
With no walls, insulation, heat or plumbing, the Williams’ home was uninhabitable, and the disastrous conditions took a toll on the couple’s health, and Ms. Williams was in and out of the hospital due to stress.
When the Atlanta Journal-Constitution shared their story in July 2024, it caught the attention of Tyler Perry, who says he felt “compelled to act” and offered to pay to renovate their home.
“I’m definitely going to make sure they are OK,” Perry told the AJC.
Three months later, the Williams were back in the home they shared for almost 40 years – and this time, it was as good as new.
“It was like God had come down and answered my prayer — it was just so much joy,” Dorothy Williams told the AJC. “And Tyler Perry said: ‘Calm down, take a deep breath you don’t have to worry anymore. I’m going to pay for everything.’”
The Williams learned that Chastain was a con artist who had taken advantage of homeowners in need of repairs for years before he was convicted of felony theft by deception and theft by conversion and sentenced to three years in prison in March 2024, according to Atlanta News First.
As the holidays approach, the couple, who has been married for nearly 35 years, says being able to spend the holidays in their new home is one of the best gifts they could have received.
“It was heaven, I’m just so happy,” Ms. Williams said. “We don’t have to be in the cold this winter.”