EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14/CBS4) — An El Paso businessman pleaded guilty Friday after clients alleged he took their money but did not do the work.

In a court hearing, Aryan Marivani, owner of the now-dissolved FCS Wrought Iron, pled guilty to “attempt to commit theft” as he was accused of defrauding six victims of between $30,000 and $150,000 from January 2024 to September 2025.

According to El Paso County, Marivani has paid $110,640 as the court requested, money that will be given to the victims to compensate them for their losses.

Marivani will also face three years of probation with 100 hours of community service because it is his first offense, according to the prosecutor.

Emily Schmalz reports on an El Paso business man pleading guilty and sentenced to probation after defrauding customers

Furthermore, the agreement does not prevent Marivani from starting a new business; however, if he were to be involved in a new criminal complaint, he could spend time in prison.

“While our office often seeks jail time for those who defraud our community—such as the repeat offender sentenced to 25 years this past December—we prioritize the needs of the victims when deciding how to resolve a case,” said El Paso County Attorney Christina Sanchez.

“After consulting with the individuals affected by Mr. Marivani’s actions, we determined that securing more than $110,000 in immediate restitution was the best course of action. This outcome ensures that the victims are made whole financially, the defendant is held accountable with a felony guilty plea, and his business is permanently dissolved,” Sanchez concluded.

In a press release, the El Paso County Attorney’s office described how an investigation into FCS Wrought Iron revealed a pattern of “deceptive business practices” going back to at least 2022.

The press release said Marivani would solicit customers, accept deposits for custom metal projects, such as gates, fences, doors, etc., but then he would repeatedly fail to honor agreements, not fulfill services, and use excuses. When customers would ask for their money back, Marivani would often refuse, citing the terms and conditions of his contracts.

Below are documents detailing Marivani’s plea agreement:

RELATED: El Paso businessman faces felony theft charges amid client allegations

KFOX14/CBS4 spoke to a few of Marivani’s victims at the plea hearing.

Sean Allen Ryan said he is still waiting on a gate that was never installed after what he described as repeated attempts to get answers.

“There’s a gate that not been installed, 40 hours of waiting for him to show up, 142 emails going to his shop, and every single 62 emails he sent me were all canned lies,” Ryan said.

Mary Lauderback said Marivani came to her home multiple times but then disappeared.

“He came out several times with his wife, supposedly, taking measurements, lying to our face, just a fraud,” Lauderback said.

She added, “And then we never heard from him ever again.”

Sylvia Tombowski said her dispute escalated after she posted a negative review.

“I finally wrote a negative review and then he doxxed me. And then after that, because he wanted more money, he wanted an additional $2,500 on every fees to comply,” Tombowski said.

Tombowski said the Marivani then tried to take her to court.

“He attempted to sue me. We went to court. The judge ruled in my favor and he didn’t show up and he never provided restitution,” she said. “It caused a lot of stress,”

KFOX14/CBS4 also spoke to several other victims of Marivani when he was first indicted in November 2025, who expressed their frustration over the lengthy legal process to seek justice and their money back.

One victim, speaking anonymously, expressed relief back when Marivani was first indicted, saying, “t’s been disheartening, disappointing, some anger in seeing his constant posts, that he’s still out there, I guess, hustling and making money so that, that that’s been, that’s been bothersome to me.”

Michael Fino, another victim named in the indictment, shared, “We had to go to the county’s attorney’s office. We basically, you know, we had to go to you guys. I believe some of us even went to a city hall meeting. It’s kind of a shame that we had to go to this extreme, you know, and then to be told that it might be, you know, it might be a misdemeanor, just a slap on the wrist, and he’s going to move on that. It was really disappointing. It was a struggle. It was a struggle,” Fino said.

Fino said he paid a $3,000 deposit for a gate and fence from FCS Wrought Iron, which he said he never received.

RELATED: FCS Wrought Iron faces new deceptive business practice charges

If you or someone you know has been a victim of similar fraud, you are encouraged to call the authorities or the County Attorney’s Deceptive Business Unit at 915-273-3249.

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