CROWN POINT | A Munster man already convicted of bilking Lake County residents out of thousands of dollars faces a new set of theft charges, Lake Criminal Court records show.

Brian Scott Wallace, 32, was charged over the last two months with five counts of felony theft in four separate cases.

Once again, residents throughout the county reported Wallace approached their homes and asked if they needed any home improvements, court records allege.

The residents signed contracts and gave Wallace half of the total amount of the repairs, prosecutors say. A few residents gave him cash, but most wrote Wallace checks that were cashed by Wallace, court records state.

One Gary resident told police he ordered 15 new windows that he never received. Another Merrillville resident said he ordered new siding, gutters, downspouts and storm doors that never came.

Cases have been reported in Gary, East Chicago and Merrillville, court records state.

Throughout the summer of 2003, Wallace took more than $23,000 from more than 11 people in Northwest Indiana and suburban Chicago, according to probable cause affidavits filed in the cases.

He was sentenced in 2004 to five years in prison and five years probation after pleading guilty to five counts of felony theft.

Prosecutors dismissed several other charges, but as part of the negotiated plea agreement, Wallace was called to repay all 11 victims in those incidents.

In his 2004 sentencing, Wallace's attorney told Lake Criminal Court Judge Clarence Murray that his client's crimes were the result of drug addiction.