Maryland High Court: Criminal Conviction Invalid For Builder Who Accepted Cash From Customers, Then Failed To Deliver Homes

In Prince George's County, Maryland, The Washington Examiner reports:

• Maryland's highest court has affirmed the reversal of a theft conviction for a builder sentenced to 12 years behind bars for failing to construct Upper Marlboro homes he had contracts to develop.



• The Maryland Court of Appeals upheld a lower appellate court's decision to overturn Leon T. Coleman's June 2009 conviction in Prince George's County on charges of theft by deception and failing to deposit money into an escrow account.



• The "evidence was insufficient to conclude that Coleman intentionally deprived the buyers of their property," the Court of Appeals opinion says.



• The saga began in 2004, when Coleman entered into contracts with 10 families to build homes in an Upper Marlboro subdivision. The contracts said the buyers would purchase lots before their homes were built, according to court records. The buyers obtained loans for the purchases; Coleman used some their initial payments to buy the lots and put the rest in an escrow account, court documents say.



• But he never went forward with construction because he ran out of money before he could obtain the necessary permits.



• Prosecutors contended that Coleman never intended to build the homes, saying he didn't use the initial funds for construction and made "misrepresentations" about the development's progress. But that doesn't constitute theft, the appeals court said. "When a defendant has a right to receive money or property, he cannot be guilty of stealing it," the opinion says.



• The prosecution also argued that Coleman's failure to spend some of the funds he received implies that he kept the money for himself or spent it improperly. The appeals court, however, said there was no evidence that Coleman used the money for anything other than the construction project.



• Coleman was the first person prosecuted for building violations in Prince George's County under Maryland's Custom Home Protection Act, which requires builders to place advance payments in escrow accounts.



• But because the buyers received the property deeds before the homes were built, the act isn't relevant, according to the appeals court. The court said the act "does not apply when a builder or vendor deeds land without a home on it."



• Emma Coleman, the builder's wife, was also initially charged in the case, but the accusations against her were dropped.

Source: Maryland court affirms reversal of builder's theft conviction.