PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) – Bad news turned into good fortune for an 82-year-old blind woman scammed out of more than a month’s income by shady contractors who were supposed to clean her yard and fix her home.

When news spread that Margaret Tebbetts was cheated out of $875 last month, six volunteers from the home repair company Rent-A-Husband rallied around her, doing $3,000 worth of work on her home – everything she’d paid for and more.

Kaile Warren, founder and CEO of Rent-A-Husband, based in South Portland, Maine, called the alleged scam “deplorable” and said such scams are common.

“In the springtime, corrupt contractors come out of the woodwork like carpenter ants,” said Warren. “Our company receives hundreds of calls each year from situations like this.”

And now Tebbetts is getting more good news. One of two Maine men charged with scamming her pleaded guilty this week. In addition to a fine, Chris Evans, 24, of Lyman, has been ordered to repay Tebbetts.

“That was my emergency money,” Tebbetts said Wednesday as crews worked in her home. “They took advantage of me.”

Tebbetts said the ordeal began May 17 with a knock on her door. She said a man claiming to be with Diamond Outdoor Services offered to remove brush from her yard and clean out her gutters. She said she was told it would cost $200.

“I thought it was worth it,” she said.

She agreed to have the work done, but said the man then reportedly increased the price, and when she struggled writing the check because of her eyesight, the man offered to do it for her.

Within 15 minutes of handing the man a check for $875, Tebbetts said she and neighbors realized she’d been scammed. She immediately called her bank, but it was already too late. The check had been cashed.

“They must have left here and gone right downtown,” Tebbetts said. “I felt like a dumbbell.”