by Alex Lloyd Gross
No one likes to be scammed. One unscrupulous home improvement contractor found out the hard way that it is better to do the work or turn down a project completely. Police said that Joseph Eibell, 48, of Huntingdon Valley, would take cash for projects he never intended to complete, or not show up at all. He just got convicted of those accusations last week in Bucks County. He is now in jail, after the judge revoked his bail.
Victims included a Bristol Township man who hired Eibell for a $120,000 home improvement project, which was never completed and left his home in an unlivable condition; a Bristol Borough woman who made $30,000 in deposits on a $50,000 project that was never finished; a Falls Township man who hired Eibell for a $90,000 project that he abandoned after the victim made $54,000 in payments; and an Upper Southampton Township woman who paid Eibell $24,000 for an exterior home project that he never performed.
Eibell will be sentenced for his crimes which include theft, contractor fraud and deceptive business practices. Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley will sentence him next month.
Court records show that Eibell was with 3 Brothers Renovation and was doing business in Lower Southampton Pa. His victims got scammed out of more than $100,000 and range from Philadelphia, Bucks and Montgomery Counties.