NJ Home Contractor Agrees to $442K Fraud Settlement

A South Jersey home improvement contractor agreed to a $442,000 settlement with the New Jersey attorney general for allegedly defrauding senior citizens and others who hired them to perform home remodeling projects.

South Jersey Home Contracting, based in Woodbury, and its owner James C. Barreras, Jr., who resides in Cinnaminson, agreed to the terms last month, according to a press release.

The settlement resolves the State’s lawsuit filed last fall alleging that SJHC and Barreras engaged in unlawful business practices, including against senior citizens, in violation of the Consumer Fraud Act, the Contractor Registration Act, and the Regulations Governing Home Improvement Practices.

According to the state’s complaint, Barreras and SJHC  accepted payments and then failed to complete the contracted-for work; closed their business after receiving consumer payments for home improvement work they never performed; refused to issue consumer-requested refunds after failing to perform the contracted-for home improvements; and accepted payments from consumers for work performed by subcontractors, but then failed to pay those subcontractors

Barreras and SJHC also allegedly imposed undisclosed charges and fees not included in the SJHC contract price on consumers; directed a consumer to make final payment on the SJHC Contract before completing the home improvements; failed to begin or complete home improvements on the date or within the time period specified in the SJHC Contract; and failed to provide timely written notice to consumers of reasons for the delay in work.

In addition to restitution to the 13 alleged victims, 11 of whom were seniors, Barreras agreed to pay a civil penalty of $185,000 and agreed to dissolve his company by the end of the year.

“We will not allow unscrupulous contractors to enrich themselves at the expense of New Jersey consumers, especially our senior residents,” Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement.

It’s far from the only New Jersey real estate-related accusation of fraud.

In September, a New Jersey real estate investor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a $1 million mortgage scheme.

Cabral Simpson, a 46-year-old resident of Orange, New Jersey, admitted to collaborating with co-conspirators in fabricating bank statements and fake employee verification records for prospective property buyers, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a press release.

They also transferred funds into the buyers’ bank accounts as deposits for property purchases.

Furthermore, Simpson and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications, along with forged supporting documents and closing paperwork on behalf of these buyers, inducing lenders to issue more than $1 million in loans, which subsequently led to defaults. 

— Ted Glanzer