A contractor recently offered some Blair customers a good deal on sidewalk replacement. It sounded like a good deal, but now those customers have had liens slapped on their properties.

Recently the City of Blair hired Swain Construction to replace cracked sidewalk panels around town. But without the company's knowledge, one employee made offers to some customers to do cheap work on the side. The customers say they had no idea their money was not going to the contractor.

The employee, 21-year-old Brandon McCorkle offered to pour the entire walkway around Trinity Lutheran Church for just $1,300.

"It seemed a little strange," says Pastor John Emslie. "He said the check should be made out to him. He said, 'we have a big contract with the City of Blair. It'll be messed up, so pay me and I'll pay them.'"

McCorkle no longer works for Swain Construction and is accused of pocketing money on five of the sidewalk jobs. The company says it is out $4,100 in labor and materials and filed mechanics' liens against the church and four homeowners.

Swain says Trinity Lutheran still owes almost $2,700 from a job that McCorkle grossly underbid.

But Pastor Emslie says he is not pouring any more money into the sidewalk project.

"Now he wants to collect another $2,700 from us saying we paid the wrong guy. Well the problem is between him and his former employee," Emslie says.

Rod Storm, Blair's City Administrator says legally the city cannot block the liens.

"We talked to the contractor, that's all we can do," Storm said. "It leaves a bad taste. We don't like our citizens to be treated that way, even though it's limited our authority to do something."

Linda Swain of Swain Construction says the liens are the only recourse for the company. She says the property owners should have seen red flags and called the company to verify the low bids.

Pastor Emslie says he had no way of knowing the employee had been cheating his boss on the sidewalk job. He says the church paid in good faith once and will not pay again.

McCorkle was on parole when he was employed with Swain Construction. He is behind bars again and facing theft charges.