Authorities arrest embattled homebuilder exposed by Action 9

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — An owner of a construction company was exposed by Action 9 for leaving customers hanging. Now he’s facing felony charges.

The York County Sheriff’s Office announced charges against 49-year-old Christian Novellino, who was arrested Monday morning at his home in Clover.

Novellino is facing seven counts of breach of trust, according to the sheriff’s office.

He’s the owner and operator of Constructing Up Homebuilders, an outfit that Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke has profiled several times before.

Previous coverage:

• ‘It’s terrible’: Another family sues builder Action 9 has been investigating
• ‘My stomach just dropped’: Family claims builder promised them home on land it doesn’t own
• Action 9: Another family files lawsuit against builder
• ‘Your forever home and this happens’: Another family sues builder Action 9′s been investigating
• Homebuilder Constructing Up’s license suspended in South Carolina
• Embattled home builder uses another company name

Families told Stoogenke that Constructing Up would make promises for their homes and then fail to deliver. At least five families spoke up about their lawsuits against Constructing Up.

The builder’s lawyer emailed Action 9 a statement in the past and said to use it for any follow-up reports. She said, “Constructing Up cannot comment about active litigation other than to say that each case is different and Constructing Up is working toward resolving all outstanding disputes.”

South Carolina’s licensing board suspended Constructing Up’s license in October. In North Carolina, the board is investigating and will take this up again in January.

The York County Sheriff’s Office said the charges were filed after “multiple victims raised concerns.” The victims alleged that they couldn’t get refunds when the work wasn’t completed.

Authorities say additional charges could be coming.

Solicitor Kevin Bracket on Wednesday asked a judge to deny bond for Novellino.

“There’s no hope that he will return these people’s money. I have no doubt these people will never be made whole,” Bracket said.

Burt and Sylvie Carey say Novellino and his company promised to build their dream home in 2021, but he never finished the house and instead kept their money.

“We hope we get the money back, but if we don’t ... to see Chris Novellino behind bars will be a blessing,” said Burt Carey.

Prosecutors told the judge they believe Novellino’s actions were intentional.

“Mr. Novellino is not simply a bad businessman, he is a con artist,” Bracket said.

In court, Novellino admitted he isn’t the greatest businessman, but he said he’s no con artist.

Since news of Novellino’s arrest, Bracket says they’ve gotten dozens of calls from other potential victims, and they expect this case to grow.

On Wednesday, a judge set Novellino’s bond at $600,000. If he posts bond, he will have to surrender his passport and wear a GPS monitor.

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