New Jersey Handyman Admits Scamming $300K+ From Elderly Homeowner

The Monmouth County, NJ Prosecutor's Office recently announced that Michael J. Madden, 48, of South Plainfield, N.J., copped a guilty plea to second degree Theft by Deception for his role in scamming $322,545.61 from a 77 year old homeowner. He is looking at five years in the NJ state prison and will enter into a civil judgment in favor of the victim for the full amount of the theft. According to a press release:

• [T]he 77 year old victim hired defendant Madden to make minor repairs in her basement of her [...] residence due to damage caused by a flood. The victim contacted Madden after observing his advertisement which appeared in the "Trenton Times" under the headings "General Repairs" and "Handy Man." [...] The family of the victim became concerned in the Summer of 2006, and subsequently contacted law enforcement authorities, because the repair work had yet to be completed and because their review of the victim's bank statements revealed that she had written a large number of checks made payable to Madden and to his wife.

For more, see Handyman Admits Stealing Over $322,000 From Elderly Victim.

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