BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) – A Tampa contractor was sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of scamming thousands of dollars from an elderly man for work that never took place following Hurricane Michael.
66-year-old Mark Eugene Stargardt was found guilty of grand theft of more than $20,000 on June 16 of this year.
Along with his sentence, Circuit Court Judge Shonna Young Gay ordered Stargardt to pay $46,606.33 in restitutions
Florida contractor convicted of stealing $38K from elderly man
Between February and May of 2019, Stargardt and his company cashed checks from the victim, totalling about $38,000.
The victim hired Stargardt to perform repairs and reconstruction on his property after it was damaged in Hurricane Michael, but by August 2019, no progress had been made.
The only permit pulled was for an initial demolition on the property, which was incomplete and done improperly.
The victim grew frustrated with the company and took his complaints to the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, leading to Stargardt’s arrest.
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