2 Middletown Sandy Contractors Admit They Ripped Off Customers

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Two home improvement contractors who worked in Middletown and the surrounding area admitted this week they scammed and ripped off homeowners who suffered storm damage in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

Last Friday, May 6, John Bishop, 57, of Celebration, Florida, pled guilty in Ocean County Superior Court to one count of theft by failure to make required disposition.

Then on Monday of this week, May 9, his business partner, Paul Rueda, 50, of San Diego, Texas, pled guilty to the same charge.

Both men did many jobs repairing homes in Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. They specifically did work in this area between October 2014 and May 2017, said the prosecutor. Sandy hit New Jersey in October of 2012.

Their home contracting business was named John Paul Building, LLC. Prosecutors say six homeowners throughout Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties entered into contracts with John Paul Builders, LLC, to repair their homes following Sandy.

Collectively, these homeowners paid John Paul Builders more than $350,000, which the defendants agreed to use to complete the projects. The homeowners received little to no work on their projects, however, and the company disbanded without returning any of the funds to the homeowners.

Then, between July 2016 and May 2017, Rueda entered in agreements with four additional homeowners under a contracting business he formed on his own, PKR Construction.

Those homeowners paid PKR Construction a total of $363,575 towards construction projects on their properties.

Although some work was done by PKR Construction, Rueda converted the victims’ funds to his own personal use and benefit and failed to complete the projects.

The case against both men was prosecuted by Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer, who announced their guilty pleas.

Sentencing has not been determined, but the Ocean County Prosecutor is recommending a harsh prison sentence: Five years in state prison for Rueda and four years for Bishop. Also, as part of their plea agreements, Bishop has agreed to pay $178,425 in restitution to the victims; Rueda has agreed to pay $542,800 in restitution to the victims.

Prosecutor Billhimer said the efforts of the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, Little Egg Harbor Police Department, Brick Township Police Department, Point Pleasant Borough Police Department and Middletown Police led to their arrests and guilty pleas.

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