Poconos contractor arrested for theft, property damage, failure to finish paid for project

A contractor from Hawley was arrested Friday, following an investigation into a failed residence renovation undertaking in Lake Ariel.Police took Joshua W. Johnson, 39, into custody on prices of Theft by Deception, Legal Mischief relating to property hurt, and getting payment for a challenge which was not completed. Bail was set at $25,000.According to law enforcement paperwork, Johnson, operator and operator of Johnson Residential, LLC, was hired in June 2021 to renovate a Lake Ariel home and connect a single-loved ones addition to it. The venture was scheduled to be concluded by March 15, 2022.Complications commenced to come up in August when law enforcement allege Johnson had taken $60,000 to commence the job but was not able to obtain the necessary developing permits. The homeowners experienced to do so themselves. In accordance to the police affidavit, difficulties this sort of as skipped deadlines, failure to get resources and bad interaction ongoing to pile up all over the drop and winter.Johnson allegedly acquired a next $60,000 payment from the homeowners in mid-December.After having difficulties to connect with Johnson, the owners manufactured contact in January.On March 4, Johnson filed for individual bankruptcy. According to the personal bankruptcy situation file, Johnson owes above $20,000 to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s place of work for insurance policy fraud. The situation file also lists several collectors owed dollars for breaches of contract, one particular of which is the operator of the Lake Ariel home.Police allege the house owners afterwards learned Johnson’s insurance coverage had lapsed in Oct 2021, meaning the property was uninsured by the winter season. All through this time, the report states the dwelling experienced been gutted and the roof taken out.The home entrepreneurs reached out to police in March to look into the subject following they had been suggested the property necessary to be torn down.According to the law enforcement affidavit, Johnson gathered $120,000 from the house proprietor and only carried out all over $62,000 really worth of get the job done. The approximated price tag to tear down the composition is $26,000 in addition an approximate $60,000 to employ the service of a new contractor, it states.

This short article originally appeared on Tri-County Unbiased: Hawley contractor arrested for failed Lake Ariel renovation job