Montco Contractor Scammed Homeowners: DA

BUCKS COUNTY, PA —A home improvement contractor has been convicted of ripping off nine homeowners in Bucks County and Montgomery County of tens of thousands of dollars of work he never completed, authorities said.

Joseph Eibell, 48, of Huntingdon Valley, was found guilty Thursday of nine felony counts each of contractor fraud, deceptive business practices and theft by deception, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

The trial began on Monday. After his conviction, Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley revoked Eibell’s bail as he awaits sentencing, which is scheduled for next month.

Eibell was originally charged in June 2022 with committing fraud against four victims. As the investigation by the Upper Southampton Township Police Department continued, more victims were located, and he was charged with additional counts.

The investigation found that from April 2019 until June April 2022, Eibell accepted advanced payments for work through his Lower Southampton Township-based home improvement business, 3 Brothers Renovation, and then failed to perform the represented quantity of work.

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.

At the time he was charged, the investigation found that Eibell and his company received contracts for work in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties and additional victims were located in Upper Southampton Township, Warminster Township and Lower Moreland Township and Pottstown in Montgomery County, and one victim in Philadelphia.

Those victims lost more than $100,000 for projects that Eibell and his company never completed.

Upper Southampton Township Police Detective James W. Shirmer was the lead investigator in this case, which was referred to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office by the Bucks County Office of Consumer Protection.