A New Church contractor who got a two-year window to make a customer whole and fell short is now headed for sentencing on a felony. James Daniel Roberts III, 44, was convicted of construction fraud in Accomack Circuit Court last week (via Shore Daily News).
The case goes back to 2022. The paper reports that Roberts took payment from Deborah Ullman of Chincoteague for construction work he'd been hired to do, then didn't do it between Aug. 31 and Oct. 6 of that year.
What makes this one worth a closer look is how it got to a conviction. Roberts pleaded guilty about two years ago, but the court withheld judgment to give him time to pay Ullman back. If he'd repaid the full amount within those two years, the felony would have been knocked down to a misdemeanor. According to the report, he paid back about $5,000, which was less than half of what he owed. So the felony stood.
Judge Lynwood Lewis ordered a presentence report and set sentencing for Feb. 25, 2027. Roberts remains free on bond until then. The article doesn't say what sentence prosecutors will seek, and the full amount Ullman paid wasn't reported.
Virginia's construction fraud law, Code section 18.2-200.1, covers anyone who takes an advance of money or materials with fraudulent intent on a promise to build, repair or improve a structure or other real property, then doesn't do the work and doesn't substantially pay the money back. There's an important step built into the statute: the homeowner has to send a written demand for the money by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the contractor's last known address or the address on the contract. The contractor then has 15 days to return the advance before the crime is complete.
The law treats a conviction as larceny. Under Virginia's larceny statute, taking $1,000 or more is grand larceny, which carries one to 20 years in prison, or, at the judge's or jury's discretion, up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500.
Homeowners in Virginia who get burned by a licensed contractor also have a civil route. The state Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation runs a Contractor Transaction Recovery Fund that can pay up to $30,000 per claim on residential jobs, but only after the homeowner wins a court judgment based on fraud, misrepresentation or similar dishonest conduct and has tried to collect. A plain breach of contract doesn't qualify.
Why it matters for Contractors
In Virginia, a deposit taken for a job that never happens can become more than a civil dispute. Once a customer sends that certified-mail demand and 15 days pass without the money coming back, the statute's clock has run, and cash-flow trouble or an overloaded schedule isn't a defense written into the law.
If a job falls apart, the practical move is simple: if you can't do the work, give the deposit back, and do it before the demand letter clock runs out. If you can't refund it all at once, put a payment plan in writing with the customer.
And this case shows that a second chance from the court isn't a free pass. Roberts had two years to pay and a misdemeanor on the table. Paying back less than half wasn't enough.