Man Gets 90 Days In Home Repair Ripoff Victimizing Senior Out Of $21K

In Chatham, Ontario, The Chatham Daily News reports:

• A 48-year-old Chatham man who bilked an elderly man out of more than $21,000 will spend 90 days behind bars. William Joseph MacDonald pleaded guilty [...] to fraud over $5,000. "You preyed upon and you stole from an ill and vulnerable person," said Superior Court Justice Edward Ducharme. "You did it not once or twice, but repeatedly over a long period of time."

• Assistant Crown attorney Fred Creed told the court the victim, a 76-year-old Ottawa man, took over management of his elderly sister's Chatham properties in 2006. Creed said the man had an agreement with Do It Right Handyman, owned by MacDonald, to take care of the eight houses. "Much of the work that had been paid . . . had never been completed or started," he said. The Crown said between September of 2006 and April of 2007, MacDonald billed, and received payment for, a variety of home improvements he didn't do. The improvements ranged from new roofs and siding to cleaning and painting and totaled $21,662.

For the story, see Elderly man defrauded out of $21,000 .