Pennsylvania man who authorities say scammed two Middle Keys women

A Pennsylvania man who authorities say scammed two Middle Keys women through unlicensed contracting faces three criminal charges in Monroe County.

Thomas McCormick, 57, of Hanover, Pa., was booked into the Monroe County Detention Center on Oct. 7 after being arrested on a warrant on Sept. 13 in Adams County, Pa. In one case, he’s charged with engaging in the contracting business without a license during a governor-declared state of emergency and grand theft of $10,000 or more. In the other, he’s charged with engaging in the contracting business without a license.

In one case, McCormick allegedly collected and kept a $15,830.18 deposit to remodel a 90-year-old woman’s home on 116th Street yet was not licensed to do so by Monroe County or the state of Florida. The woman reported it to state Department of Business and Professional Regulation Investigator Mark Terrill, who in turn contacted Monroe County State Attorney’s Office Investigator Abraham Vallejo, who brought the charges.

The woman reported that she struck up a conversation with McCormick in the Home Depot parking lot and that after she told him she needed help with her house, McCormick represented himself as a licensed contractor doing business as Mastercraft Contracting.

She and McCormick signed a contract on Jan. 16, 2018, for the home remodeling at a cost of $29,500 (with an additional $8,836.18 added for cabinet upgrades and more work). The scope included new kitchen cabinets, toilets, vanities, drywall and doors, and repairs to exterior blocks. From Jan. 14 to 18, the woman cut McCormick three checks totaling $16,830.18 for the deposit and he cashed them.

Vallejo’s arrest affidavit says McCormick “performed some demolition” at the woman’s house on two occasions in January, “but abandoned the job before completing any actual remodel work to the home.” He told her he had to go to Maryland for personal reasons and that he would return on Jan. 22, but never did and kept the $16,830.18.

The two subsequently spoke “numerous times” but then McCormick stopped accepting the woman’s calls, Vallejo wrote. After she sent him a letter declaring breach of contract, he mailed her a $1,000 check. But he still had $15,830.18 of her money while having done none of the remodeling, the affidavit alleges.

In July, McCormick Called Terrill, the DBPR investigator, and admitted being paid and not a licensed contractor Florida; the state Construction Industry Licensing Board confirmed his lack of licensing. And he never pulled a permit for the job from the city of Marathon.

On Sept. 4, 2017, before Hurricane Irma struck the Keys as a Category 4 storm, Gov. Rick Scott declared a statewide State of Emergency. He extended it several times and it was in effect when the woman and McCormick signed the contract.

Vallejo charged McCormick with contracting without a license during a declared state of emergency, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, a $5,000 fine or both; and grand-theft over $10,000, which carries the same possible penalties upon conviction.

The other case stems from a contract McCormick signed with a resident of Marathon’s Coco Plum area on Jan. 11. She found out later in the day he wasn’t licensed and reported it to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

The woman had signed the $1,900 contract for “labor and materials to install drywall to code with insulation between studs,” Deputy Amanda Coleman wrote in a report. She wrote McCormick a $1,300 check as initial payment, Coleman wrote.

Coleman checked with Vallejo and confirmed McCormick is not a licensed contractor and charged him with engaging in the contracting business without certification (first-time offense).  It’s a misdemeanor with a possible penalty of up to a year in jail, a $1,000 fine or both.

The State Attorney’s Office, Sheriff’s Office and DPBR worked cooperatively in both investigations of McCormick.

“Hurricane Irma caused widespread damage and grief for residents of Monroe County. Those who would take advantage of that grief for their personal gain will not be tolerated. Illegal contracting is a serious crime and we will prosecute those arrested for it to the fullest extent of the law,” State Attorney Dennis Ward said.

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