Home repair fraud nets fine, sentence

10/6/2005

HILLSDALE, Mich. - A 29-year-old Jackson, Mich., man was sentenced to 11 months in jail and ordered to pay $27,000 restitution to a Hillsdale County homeowner whom he defrauded in a house-repair scam.

William Hoage, Jr., was also placed on probation for five years and ordered to pay $120 to the state crime-victims' rights fund. Hillsdale County Circuit Court officials said Hoage posed as a licensed contractor and started a renovation job at the home, then stopped showing up "and left the house in disarray."

Hoage was sentenced Monday by Circuit Judge Michael Smith on a charge of attempted false pretenses over $20,000.