Philly man charged with home improvement fraud
KULPMONT — Officer David Bucher charged John Depalo, 53, of 4818 Knorr St., Philadelphia, with felonies of home improvement fraud and theft by deception for allegedly receiving money to perform work at a Scott Street home, but failing to complete the job.
According to the affidavit, Depalo and the victim, Darnell Hudson, entered into a verbal agreement to conduct $3,800 in work. The defendant represented himself as a contractor; however, the victim would later discover the defendant is not a registered contractor.
The victim said the defendant received $3,000 but only performed partial demolition work and failed to complete any repairs.
A meeting was scheduled on Aug. 13 between the parties, but the defendant failed to show, citing a family emergency. The defendant later sent a message saying he would “walk away from the job” and “let you deal with it.”
The victim’s last contact with the defendant was Aug. 22.