Dear District Attorney’s Office of Harris County, Texas: it’s time to protect the public from these scammers, and in particular from Monica Marchetti, the ringleader who hides her criminal past using newer names not tied to her felony convictions.
The victims may today know her as Cheleste Haddad, or as "Monica Lawler" or "Monica Marchetti", or as Kitchen & Bath Decor & More, 1707 Durham Dr., Houston, TX 77007, or as someone who took your money, promised to do a renovation, who typically does the demolition, then never shows up again— and never returns the $, doing just enough (by plan ans scheme) to pretend “it’s a civil matter”, were anyone to complain to the District Attorney. This is exactly the MO over and over again. In fact, the victims are chosen to be well-to-do professionals, those who would prefer to not file a lawsuit so as to not harm their reputation since filing means they were taken like a sucker, in fact, many who have enough money that the loss of money can be weighed against the harm to their reputation for bad judgment in trusting these scammers. Many times they got 70, 80, 90, even 100% of the money up-front. (see stack of civil suits and summaries below).
There’s all the hallmarks of a deceptive business practice and civil fraud— including hiding her true identify that did time for this same scam in the form of a felony conviction– back in 2008, so those doing due diligence would not know to stear clear. (You know how you know the hiding the old name is part of the scam? See the dozen plus lawsuits below, none of which plead the deliberate– (treble damages possible)-- hiding of the prior names such as “Marchetti” and “Lawler” so the unwitting public get suckered into trusting her and not finding her criminal record for ripping off homeowner and serving felony time for this.
Real Name, Aliases, and Hidden Names so unwitting victims don’t catch on to the con.
Monica Cheleste /Cheleste/etc. Has many names– all the same person (none mentioned in any of the filed lawsuits so far):
Defendant Alias
True Name
GOVENDER, MONICA MARCHETTI (same date in 1968)
LAWLER, MONICA CHELESTE (same date in 1968)
MARCHETTI, MONICA (same date in 1968)
MARCHETTI, MONICA CHELESTE (same date in 1968)
Then there’s these other names she holds out or has held out to the public.
Celeste / Cheleste / Celest for each of these.
Monica Cheleste Marchetti
Monica Marchetti Govender
Monica Marchetti
Monica Lawler
Monica Cheleste Lawler
Monica Celeste Lawler
Monica Celest Lawler
Cheleste Haddad
Cheleste Hadad
Celeste Haddad
Celeste Hadad
Celest Haddad
Monica Albaner
Cheleste Albaner
Monica Khanouf
Cheleste Khanouf
(At least this many that have been found so far)
Cheleste is using a man’s last name, whether husband of the moment or otherwise, to hide her true name and the past that is discovered by having that detail when googling to see if someone is safe or a scammer.
Examples of generic-sounding company names she likes to use:
Monica (Cheleste) sets up lots of companies with generic broad hard-to-track, nonspecific names, to kind of blend in and not be too individualized. Then she changes the name and address to not be anywhere too long where the pattern will get picked up upon.
The New Home Design Center, Inc.
The initial registered agent is an individual resident of the state whose name is set forth below: Name: Monica Marchetti
The business address of the registered agent and the registered office address is: Street Address: 14725 Katy Freeway Suite #20 Houston TX 77079
Director 1: Monica Marchetti Address: 14725 Katy Freeway Suite 20 Houston TX, USA 77079
Director 2: Yousef F Alnaber
Address: 14725 Katy Freeway Suite 20 Houston TX, USA 77079
Houston Custom Closet Designs Director Celeste Haddad
Principal Address: 10218 Westheimer Rd Ste A Houston, TX 77042
Not all are filed with the Secretary of State or County. Some are generic doing business as (d/b/a) name. These not publicly filed include:
Momentum Décor and More
AAA Tile and All
Marchetti New Home Design Center
Italia International
Marchetti International
Bella Casa International
Petra International Stone
Just counter tops
Zara
G&N Granite
The names are also sometimes appearing to be selected to be confusing with those of legitimate organizations. These are not named here to not harm the reputations of those who are not involved.
Cheleste Haddad's Criminal Record spans many names and many years:
Criminal history summary: (Credit card fraud; felony theft)
The State of Texas v. Monica Cheleste Marchetti: In Case No. 1104634, Incident No./TRN 9038023744A001, in the 262nd District Court, Harris County (Houston), TX– Monica Cheleste Marchetti plead guilty to Theft $1500-20,000, a State Jail Felony, and was sentenced by Judge Mike Anderson on 7/12/2007 to confinement for 7 months in the State Jail Division, TDCJ. This is known as a felony conviction.
The felony for which Monica (You know her as “Cheleste”) served time fits perfectly the MO of all her scamming to this day: Affiant Spoke to the Complainant who stated that on January 14, 2007, he gave the defendant a check in payment in advance for the defendant installing granite countertops in the kitchen of complainant’s home in Houston TX. The complainant advised that defendant cashed the check on January 15, 2007 and that NO WORK WAS EVER DONE. (Same thing as always with this fraudster). She advised that his money would be returned on February 9, 2007. The defendant never returned any of the money to the complainant. The defendant was placed into a lineup with five individuals of similar characteristics and the complainant was able to make a positive identification of the defendant.
Bail was set in a publicly filed instrument for “Marchetti, Monica Cheleste” signed by Lawyler, Monica Cheleste” as sureties. That instrument states, “The defendant has been charged with a felony offense.”
The signatures are by the same person on February 20, 2007 as follows:
Principal
Marchetti, Monica Cheleste
Cash Depositor/Surety
Lawler, Monica Cheleste
The instrument includes defendant’s thumbprint.
Receipt was issued on 2/19/07
Turns out Monica was not honest with the bond company either. She “failed to appear in this court as required”. On January 28, 2008, Monica the default judgment and Judgement of Forfeiture was made and noticed to this “last known address”: Cheleste Marchetti, of 2757 Briargrove #409, Houston, TX 77057
The Filing “110463401010 - The State of Texas vs. MARCHETTI, MONICA CHELESTE (Court 262): States the following description:
Credit Card Felony 045875601010 - The State of Texas vs. LAWLER, MONICA CHELESTE (Court 230)
Kitchen & Bathroom Remodeling Houston Reviews
Dear District Attorney’s Office of Harris County, Texas: it’s time to protect the public from these scammers, and in particular from Monica Marchetti, the ringleader who hides her criminal past using newer names not tied to her felony convictions.
The victims may today know her as Cheleste Haddad, or as "Monica Lawler" or "Monica Marchetti", or as Kitchen & Bath Decor & More, 1707 Durham Dr., Houston, TX 77007, or as someone who took your money, promised to do a renovation, who typically does the demolition, then never shows up again— and never returns the $, doing just enough (by plan ans scheme) to pretend “it’s a civil matter”, were anyone to complain to the District Attorney. This is exactly the MO over and over again. In fact, the victims are chosen to be well-to-do professionals, those who would prefer to not file a lawsuit so as to not harm their reputation since filing means they were taken like a sucker, in fact, many who have enough money that the loss of money can be weighed against the harm to their reputation for bad judgment in trusting these scammers. Many times they got 70, 80, 90, even 100% of the money up-front. (see stack of civil suits and summaries below).
There’s all the hallmarks of a deceptive business practice and civil fraud— including hiding her true identify that did time for this same scam in the form of a felony conviction– back in 2008, so those doing due diligence would not know to stear clear. (You know how you know the hiding the old name is part of the scam? See the dozen plus lawsuits below, none of which plead the deliberate– (treble damages possible)-- hiding of the prior names such as “Marchetti” and “Lawler” so the unwitting public get suckered into trusting her and not finding her criminal record for ripping off homeowner and serving felony time for this.
Real Name, Aliases, and Hidden Names so unwitting victims don’t catch on to the con.
Monica Cheleste /Cheleste/etc. Has many names– all the same person (none mentioned in any of the filed lawsuits so far):
Defendant Alias
True Name
GOVENDER, MONICA MARCHETTI (same date in 1968)
LAWLER, MONICA CHELESTE (same date in 1968)
MARCHETTI, MONICA (same date in 1968)
MARCHETTI, MONICA CHELESTE (same date in 1968)
Then there’s these other names she holds out or has held out to the public.
Celeste / Cheleste / Celest for each of these.
Monica Cheleste Marchetti
Monica Marchetti Govender
Monica Marchetti
Monica Lawler
Monica Cheleste Lawler
Monica Celeste Lawler
Monica Celest Lawler
Cheleste Haddad
Cheleste Hadad
Celeste Haddad
Celeste Hadad
Celest Haddad
Monica Albaner
Cheleste Albaner
Monica Khanouf
Cheleste Khanouf
(At least this many that have been found so far)
Cheleste is using a man’s last name, whether husband of the moment or otherwise, to hide her true name and the past that is discovered by having that detail when googling to see if someone is safe or a scammer.
Examples of generic-sounding company names she likes to use:
Monica (Cheleste) sets up lots of companies with generic broad hard-to-track, nonspecific names, to kind of blend in and not be too individualized. Then she changes the name and address to not be anywhere too long where the pattern will get picked up upon.
The New Home Design Center, Inc.
The initial registered agent is an individual resident of the state whose name is set forth below: Name: Monica Marchetti
The business address of the registered agent and the registered office address is: Street Address: 14725 Katy Freeway Suite #20 Houston TX 77079
Director 1: Monica Marchetti Address: 14725 Katy Freeway Suite 20 Houston TX, USA 77079
Director 2: Yousef F Alnaber
Address: 14725 Katy Freeway Suite 20 Houston TX, USA 77079
Houston Custom Closet Designs Director Celeste Haddad
MARCHETTI INTERNATIONAL INC
Entity Type: TEXAS DOMESTIC FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION
File Number: 0800985345
Filing State: Texas (TX)
Filing Status: Forfeited Existence
Filing Date: June 1, 2008
Company Age: 15 Years, 6 Months
Registered Agent: Monica Marchetti
10218 Westhimer Rd Suite A Houston, TX 77042
Principal Address: 10218 Westheimer Rd Ste A Houston, TX 77042
Not all are filed with the Secretary of State or County. Some are generic doing business as (d/b/a) name. These not publicly filed include:
Momentum Décor and More
AAA Tile and All
Marchetti New Home Design Center
Italia International
Marchetti International
Bella Casa International
Petra International Stone
Just counter tops
Zara
G&N Granite
The names are also sometimes appearing to be selected to be confusing with those of legitimate organizations. These are not named here to not harm the reputations of those who are not involved.
Cheleste Haddad's Criminal Record spans many names and many years:
Criminal history summary: (Credit card fraud; felony theft)
Case (Cause) Nbr / Status
11046340101A-5/ Waiting Execution(W) MARCHETTI, MONICA CHELESTE
4/13/2007
Court: 262
Temporary(T)
2/28/2008
$2,000
110463401010-3/ Complete(C)
MARCHETTI, MONICA CHELESTE
2/16/2007 | 7/3/2007
262
Disposed(D)
Disposed(DISP)7/12/2007
THEFT $1500-20K (F)
7/12/2007
045875501010-3/ Complete(C)
LAWLER, MONICA CHELESTE
9/17/1986 | 9/18/1986
230
Disposed(D)
Disposed(DISP)6/23/1987
$2,000
CRED CARD-PRESENT-OTHER (F)
10/28/1986
045875601010-3/ Complete(C)
LAWLER, MONICA CHELESTE
9/17/1986 | 9/18/1986
230
Disposed(D)
Disposed(DISP)6/23/1987
$2,000
CRED CARD-PRESENT-OTHER (F)
10/28/1986
The State of Texas v. Monica Cheleste Marchetti: In Case No. 1104634, Incident No./TRN 9038023744A001, in the 262nd District Court, Harris County (Houston), TX– Monica Cheleste Marchetti plead guilty to Theft $1500-20,000, a State Jail Felony, and was sentenced by Judge Mike Anderson on 7/12/2007 to confinement for 7 months in the State Jail Division, TDCJ. This is known as a felony conviction.
The felony for which Monica (You know her as “Cheleste”) served time fits perfectly the MO of all her scamming to this day: Affiant Spoke to the Complainant who stated that on January 14, 2007, he gave the defendant a check in payment in advance for the defendant installing granite countertops in the kitchen of complainant’s home in Houston TX. The complainant advised that defendant cashed the check on January 15, 2007 and that NO WORK WAS EVER DONE. (Same thing as always with this fraudster). She advised that his money would be returned on February 9, 2007. The defendant never returned any of the money to the complainant. The defendant was placed into a lineup with five individuals of similar characteristics and the complainant was able to make a positive identification of the defendant.
Bail was set in a publicly filed instrument for “Marchetti, Monica Cheleste” signed by Lawyler, Monica Cheleste” as sureties. That instrument states, “The defendant has been charged with a felony offense.”
The signatures are by the same person on February 20, 2007 as follows:
Principal
Marchetti, Monica Cheleste
Cash Depositor/Surety
Lawler, Monica Cheleste
The instrument includes defendant’s thumbprint.
Receipt was issued on 2/19/07
Turns out Monica was not honest with the bond company either. She “failed to appear in this court as required”. On January 28, 2008, Monica the default judgment and Judgement of Forfeiture was made and noticed to this “last known address”: Cheleste Marchetti, of 2757 Briargrove #409, Houston, TX 77057
The Filing “110463401010 - The State of Texas vs. MARCHETTI, MONICA CHELESTE (Court 262): States the following description:
Credit Card Felony 045875601010 - The State of Texas vs. LAWLER, MONICA CHELESTE (Court 230)
06/23/1987
JUDGMENT
DEFERRED ADJUDICATION TERMINATED SNU: 999 06/25/87
06/23/1987
JUDG OFFENSE
CRED CARD-PRESENT-OTHER LEVEL F3 06/25/87
06/23/1987
RECORDED VOLUME 0047 PAGE 0126 APP A MINUTES JM 06/25/87
10/28/1986
ORDER
DEFERRED ADJUDICATION OF GUILT SNU: 999 11/03/86
10/28/1986
PENALTY: PROBATION 2 YEARS ENDING 10/27/88 11/03/86
10/28/1986
RECORDED: VOLUME 0047 PAGE 0126 APP A MINUTES JM 11/03/86
10/28/1986
OFFENSE CRED CARD-PRESENT-OTHER LEVEL F3 11/03/86
09/23/1986 SERVICE ACTIVITY -- BY PLACING DEF IN JAIL ON 09/18/86 09/24/86
Known Associates: People she works with in perpetrating the common scheme and conning the public: