Rochester man pleads guilty to scamming consumers on landscaping, fencing work
ROCHESTER — Nickolas Legault, 25, of Rochester, has pleaded guilty to accepting deposits for landscaping and fencing jobs from four consumers totaling over $13,000 and failing to do the work, according to New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella.
He pleaded guilty to four misdemeanor counts of unfair business practices in violation of the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act, each involving a different consumer. This included accepting a deposit of $1,909.50 to install sod, making excuses for failing to show up and then ending communication with the customer.
He also pleaded guilty to accepting a deposit of $3,000 to install turf and showed up one day, ripping up the existing yard and accepting a second payment of $2,382, which he later returned, but then refused to do any more work or provide the materials or refund the $3,000.
He also accepted $6,000 to install a fence, spent the money on other things, and never performed any work, after repeated requests, according to Formella. He accepted a deposit of $2,200 from another consumer to enlarge a patio and install gravel, tiki torches, trees, and stone but never did the work, Formella said.
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Legault was sentenced in Strafford County Superior Court to four concurrent terms of 60 days in jail with the recommendation he be eligible for administrative home confinement. Each of the four sentences also includes an additional 10-month period, which will be suspended for four years, during which time he must pay over $13,000 in restitution, refrain from owning, operating, or managing a small business, refrain from accepting deposits for home contracting or landscaping work, not contact the four victims, and maintain good behavior.
These cases were investigated by Fred Lulka and prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Kevin Scura, both of the Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau.
The Consumer Protection Hotline is 1-888-468-4454 and complaints can be filed at doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints.
This article originally appeared on Fosters Daily Democrat: Rochester man plead guilty to scamming consumers on landscaping work
