Dive Brief:
- Ohio contractor Allan Vertucci was sentenced to three years in prison for swindling senior citizens out of $80,000 in exchange for shoddy and unfinished work, the Akron Beacon Journal reported. Prosecutors requested six years' prison time for what they said was "aggressive and predatory behavior."
- The victims, Richard and Jean Goodall, hired Vertucci in 2012 to remodel their home, and prosecutors said Vertucci either left items incomplete or produced inferior results on work that included roof and window replacements, basement waterproofing and septic tank repairs.
- Prosecutors said Vertucci took the Goodalls' life savings, and, left with a house in what prosecutors call "deplorable" condition, the couple lost the home in foreclosure and filed for bankruptcy. Richard Goodall died in 2014.
Dive Insight:
Vertucci said during sentencing that his original intentions were to repair all the damage, that he would work to make restitution and that he viewed the Goodalls as grandparents.
Cases of contractors preying on the elderly are not uncommon. In October of last year, Louisiana contractor, Tanweer Bhatti was arrested for residential contractor fraud and theft of assets of aged persons after Bhatti's clients, all older than 60 and retired, told police that Bhatti left their homes in "extremely poor conditions" after being hired to do work. Prosecutors also alleged that Bhatti used those customers' personal information to commit mortgage fraud.
Also last year, Connecticut contractor Pablo Miraballes was convicted and sentenced to jail for two years for stealing more than $36,000 from an elderly couple under the pretense of doing repairs and renovations on their home.