A “so-called contractor” who scammed native householders out of greater than $500,000 for unfinished initiatives has been sentenced to jail.
Plymouth man Steven Docchio, 59, pleaded responsible to 4 counts of larceny over $1,200 for utilizing his swimming pool firm to defraud Massachusetts householders out of a whole lot of 1000’s of {dollars}.
He was sentenced to 2.5 years in state jail — with 9 months to be served and the steadiness suspended for a complete of 10 years of probation. He was additionally ordered to pay restitution to his victims.
“This so-called contractor made promises to homeowners that he never delivered upon,” Plymouth DA Timothy Cruz mentioned in an announcement.
“Through his schemes and scams Docchio victimized these people and stole from them – first their trust, and then their money,” he added. “I am hopeful that with this defendant now going to jail and ordered to pay restitution, it will bring some form of closure to his victims.”
Throughout the top of the pandemic, demand for residential swimming swimming pools surged.
Docchio exploited this demand by offering householders with unrealistic timelines and falsely claiming he had particular entry to constructing departments and materials distributors, prosecutors mentioned.
When confronted in regards to the lack of progress, he repeatedly gave false assurances that supplies had been ordered and work would resume shortly.
After accumulating substantial funds, Docchio deserted initiatives and left pool installations unfinished. In whole, he took greater than $500,000 from householders for house enchancment initiatives that he failed to finish.
As a part of his sentence, Docchio is banned from partaking in any building or landscaping work throughout his probationary time period.
The Plymouth DA’s workplace really helpful a sentence of 4.5 to five years in state jail, adopted by 5 years of probation.
