DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. -- The state of Florida is investigating an unlicensed contractor in the Deerfield area who is allegedly taking money and taking off without ever doing the work for which he was contracted.

The complaints stem from an apartment building where tenants said this self-proclaimed contractor would offer his services, saying he worked for the building and had a blanket permit for work done on the premises.

One woman, who did not want to be identified, never dreamed that fixing her home would turn into piles of paperwork, hefty lawyer's fees and an apartment that is still not finished.

"Six weeks turned into eight weeks, turned into 12 weeks with no returned phone calls," she told Local 10's Sasha Andrade.

The woman said she hired Javier Serna to fix up her place because he claimed he worked Opal Towers, the apartment complex in which she lives.

She said she had seen him doing work there in the past and assumed he had a license to do so. But according to the Department of Business and Professional Regulations Serna does not have a license.

The victim said Serna took $53,000 from her, started the work and disappeared.

"Sometimes he would seem me coming up the driveway and he would fly out of the building," she said.

Local 10 took that information to Opal Towers so they could warn other homeowners.

But no one in the management office seemed to care.

"Am I going to take anybody by the hand -- me, personally? No. That's why we have a police department," a building representative told Local 10.

Meanwhile the victim is out a lot of money and she's afraid to show her face on camera after mysterious acid spots showed up on top of her vehicle.

She said a project that was meant to fix up her home has instead destroyed her peace of mind.

According to the state, Serna has been arrested in the past on charges of operating without a license. They are currently investigating him for the same allegations.

The management at Opal Towers told Local 10 they have seen Serna doing work around the complex, but they said it's up to the homeowners to hire contractors on their own.