A builder in Niagara County, New York, has been sentenced to as much as eight years in state jail after a three-year interval during which he accepted deposits from householders however didn’t perform any work.
Nathaniel Wagner, 42, pleaded responsible to third-degree grand larceny and a first-degree scheme to defraud.
From December 2019 to July 2022, he accepted greater than $230,000 from a dozen or so householders all through Niagara County. He then spent the cash on private bills, investments, electronics and groceries.
The prosecution adopted an investigation by the New York State Legal professional Common’s Workplace and the New York State Police.
When confronted by householders, Wagner gave lengthy lists of excuses over a interval of years.
He claimed his truck broke down and caught hearth, he and his members of the family suffered from diseases and had had points with a foreman and the county authorities.
He additionally claimed he had taken on too many roles, had dental points, had home points, had an injured employee, that supplies had been delivered in a broken situation and that his telephone was not working.
In a single case, when a home-owner grew to become suspicious after delays and excuses, Wagner created faux invoices to point out the shopper. He additionally appeased prospects by delivering a number of supplies however by no means returned to begin building work.
Wagner used the cash to pay some $90,000 in the direction of his hire, automotive upkeep and little one assist funds, in addition to for purchases from Apple, eBay and Frankie’s Pizza.
New York Legal professional Common Letitia James commented in a press assertion: “As an alternative of performing the house repairs he was employed to do, Nathaniel Wagner pocketed a whole lot of hundreds of {dollars} of his purchasers’ deposits after which strung them alongside for months and even years as he spent their cash on himself.
“I thank the state police and our companions in regulation enforcement for his or her work to safe this conviction, which sends a transparent message that anybody who preys on New York householders with fraudulent schemes will probably be dropped at justice.”
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