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October 25, 2023Toms River Leaf Collection Schedule Update
October 26, 2023
The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office reported that an Ocean County contractor has entered a guilty plea to utilizing $70,000 of a deposit provided by a Toms River homeowner for personal costs and to forsaking the restoration project for which he was paid.
Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer stated that Jeffrey Crawford, 50, of Lacey Township, entered a guilty plea to theft by failing to dispose of goods as required before Superior Court Judge Dina M. Vicari on Monday.
The state is asking for a sentence of three years in prison and almost $70,000 in restitution to the victim when he is sentenced on January 12, 2024, according to the prosecutor's office.
In May 2021, the victim lodged a complaint on Crawford—who was operating under the name Hercules Renovations, LLC—with the Ocean County Department of Consumer Affairs. Following a thorough investigation, the Toms River police discovered that the homeowner had handed Crawford a $115,000 down payment when they signed a contract in September 2020 to refurbish the first floor of their home.
Crawford did occasionally work on the property, but he stopped working on it in March 2021, authorities said, only after seriously damaging the house.
Crawford was found to have spent the majority of the funds on himself, including $30,000 on personal goods and $40,000 on gambling in Atlantic City, according to investigators.
On October 14, 2021, Crawford was taken into custody, charged, and then released with a summons to appear in court at a later time.
