View this article online: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/east/2020/08/11/578674.htm
A New Hampshire contractor was arrested on July 31, 2020, and will be arraigned this week in connection with charges for theft, forgery and unfair or deceptive business practices.
New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon J. MacDonald announced that Brian Jeffery Strouth, of Pittsfield, N.H., was arrested and charged with one class-A felony count of theft by unauthorized taking, one class-A felony count of theft by deception, one class-A misdemeanor charge of unfair or deceptive business practices, and one class-B misdemeanor charge of forgery.
This comes after Strouth received $1,500 on August 22, 2019, from a woman named J.S. to design and install a septic system on her property, but Strouth instead used the funds for unrelated purposes.
The charges allege that Strouth created the impression that he would use her funds for the design and installation of the septic system, which he knew was false.
The charges also allege that between August 21, 2019, and October 2, 2019, Strouth purposely used unfair or deceptive acts or practices including but not limited to falsely stating to J.S. that he intended to install a septic system, making ongoing misrepresentations to J.S. as to why he could not install the system and presenting a forged septic permit application to J.S.
Indeed, on or around September 16, 2019, Strouth created either verbally or in writing a state permit application for an individual sewage disposal system with a purpose to defraud, according to a press release from the New Hampshire Department of Justice.
Strouth is scheduled to be arraigned on August 13, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. before the Belknap County Superior Court. The charges and allegations are merely accusations, and Strouth is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General John W. Garrigan of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau and Assistant Attorney General Bryan J. Townsend, II, of the Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit.
Source: New Hampshire Department of Justice