Man Ordered To Repay Homeowners $11,000 For Construction Scams

TACOMA, WA — A Spanaway man has been ordered to pay $11,000 back to ten victims he scammed with unfinished contracting and remodeling jobs across Pierce, King and Thurston counties.

According to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries, 41-year-old Jasen Anthony Ayers pleaded guilty to felony theft and unregistered contracting charges, for remodeling contracts he "never finished and sometimes never started."

On top of paying back the ten victims, a Pierce County judge sentenced Ayers to perform 16 days of community service. He will also have to avoid breaking any laws and keep his address updated with the county at all times, or face 364 days in jail. As part of his guilty plea, the state will not file felony theft charges in King and Thurston counties.

According to L&I, Ayers ran his scams in 2018 and 2019 under a variety of different business names including Ayers and Sons Remodeling, Alpha Construction, Superior Remodeling, Kingdom Construction, RIG Remodeling, Western Remodeling, Once In A Lifetime Remodeling, and Stoneway Remodeling of Tacoma. None of the businesses were ever registered as contractors with Labor and Industries and only two had business licenses.

Prosecutors say Ayers met most of his victims through Porch.com. There he would place bids on projects requiring a 50 percent down payment, but as soon as work was supposed to start he'd come up with a variety of excuses to explain why work had to be delayed. L&I says Ayers's excuses included having a child who needed eye surgery, a broken down truck, sick crew members and family emergencies

The ten victims involved in the suit all paid Ayers between $125 to $4,000 for work he had no intention of finishing. Ayers ran his scam all over the Puget Sound, with victims in Puyallup, Spanaway, Tacoma, University Place, Federal Way, Kent, Yelm and more.

Ayers has also been cited for 15 civil infractions from 2018 to 2020, most of which are reportedly for unregistered contracting work.

The State Department of Labor & Industries says, to avoid scammers when hiring a contractor, homeowners should:

• Only hire contractors registered with L&I, and verify their registration online at ProtectMyHome.net.
• Get three written bids
• Never pay in full until the job is complete.
• Pay material suppliers directly instead of paying through the contractor for supplies.
• Don't write checks to individuals. Instead, write to the company name.

Related news: Prosecutors: Tacoma Man Posed As Contractor, Scammed Homeowners