LEE COUNTY, Ala. (WRBL) — In a case of exploitation amid the aftermath of the 2019 tornadoes in Lee County, Amber McCrory is now facing the possibility of a 46 month jail sentence. 

A Lee County jury agreed with investigators and prosecutors when they alleged McCrory used deceptive practices to target families already reeling from the loss of 23 community members and homelessness after the tornados. Survivors, hoping to rebuild their lives, fell victim to McCrory’s schemes, with Chief Assistant District Attorney Clay Thomas emphasizing the gravity of the situation. “They had damage in the 2019 storms. They reached out to ‘Above Board Roofing’ and Amber McCrory and had their money taken from them – so anything but above board.”

McCrory’s fraudulent tactics involved contracts and significant down payments, with one family paying $3,500 and another $3,700. After collecting the funds, McCrory vanished, leaving her victims in financial distress. Charges were filed and McRory was arrested.

This wasn’t her first Alabama theft case. McCrory was arrested in 2018 in Etowah County, Alabama on various Home Repair Fraud and Theft By Deception charges. Investigators there alleged McCrory took advantage of storm victims after an EF-3 tornado hit their community.  Lee County prosecutors say those cases were pled down to misdemeanors upon McCrory’s payment of restitution to victims. Prosecutors said McCrory did the same in the Lee County 2023 case, paying restitution to her victims days before jury selection.

Prosecutors have their suspicions in regards to her motives for repaying her victims.

“When they get caught and they do get in front of charges, they will magically come up with the money and pay the people back. And most people don’t have that extra money laying around, you know, to get someone else to fix their roof or their fence – and so they are really in a desperate need to get that money back – and they don’t want to go through the legal system either,” said Lee County District Attorney Jessica Ventiere.

Lee County prosecutors did not reduce charges. Plus, the families proceeded with a trial, resulting in a guilty verdict of theft by deception—a felony offense. McCrory is scheduled for sentencing in February, where prosecutors plan to seek the maximum penalty of 46 months in county jail.