TOMS RIVER – A Lacey Township man has been sentenced to three years in New Jersey State Prison after stealing thousands of dollars from a client and not performing work on the victim’s home, officials said.
Jeffrey Crawford, 50, of Lacey Township, previously pled guilty to Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition of Property. Additionally, Crawford will be required to make restitution to the victim in the amount of approximately $70,000. Crawford pled guilty to the charge on October 23, 2023.
In May 2021, a Toms River resident filed a complaint against Crawford, who was trading as Hercules Renovations, LLC. The homeowner told police that they entered into a contract with Crawford in September 2020 to remodel the first floor of his residence, and gave Crawford a down payment of $115,000.
Despite Crawford sporadically performing some work on the property, he abandoned the job in March 2021 – only after causing extensive damage to the residence.
Authorities discovered that a significant portion of the monies tendered by the homeowner to Crawford were utilized for Crawford’s own personal benefit rather than for completion of the project. Crawford expended more than $40,000 on gambling activity in Atlantic City, and approximately $30,000 on other personal items.
In total, Crawford misappropriated approximately $70,000 of the monies provided to him by the victim homeowner to perform the contract, officials said.
On October 14, 2021, Crawford was taken into custody at Toms River Township Police Department Headquarters. He was released on a summons pending a future appearance in Ocean County Superior Court.
Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer acknowledged the efforts of Senior Assistant Prosecutor Christopher Heisler who handled the case on behalf of the State, and commended the Toms River Police, Toms River Detective Bureau, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Victim Witness Advocacy Unit, and Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs, for their collective assistance in connection with this investigation resulting in Crawford’s guilty plea, and now his state prison sentence.
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