WEST CHESTER — A contractor in Chester County who was accused by three clients of failing to perform home improvements on their properties had pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the matter.
According to court documents, Jamie A. Jaramillo Jr. entered his plea before Common Pleas Judge Alita Rovito to Friday, acknowledging his culpability to a single count of home improvement fraud, a felony. In accepting the plea, Rovito indicated she would sentence Jaramillo at a later date, as there was no agreement between his attorney and the prosecution as to what his punishment should be.
Jaramillo, 64, of West Chester was arrested by West Chester Detective Aaron Davis in September 2023 and charged with multiple counts of theft, deceptive business practices, and failing to perform services, all of which were withdrawn by Assistant District Attorney Peter Johnsen in exchange for the plea.
According to a criminal complain and affidavit by Davis, he was first contacted by homeowner Suzanne Kershaw, who has property in the 400 block of North New Street. In 2019, she met with Jaramillo, a well-known contractor in the area, to discuss her planned home improvements and renovations.
They eventually agreed on the scope of the work, and a price of $85,000, to be paid in three installments, the last to be due at the completion of the work. She put a downpayment of $28,333 in August 2019, and subsequently paid Jaramillo another $28,333 in September. The contract was later amended to include a powder room installation and new window treatments, for a total of $90,000.
But in December, the West Chester Code Enforcement Office deemed the property “uninhabitable” and in a state of disrepair and issued a “stop work order, since Jaramillo had failed to obtain any permits for the construction at the home.
Despite her requests, however, Jaramillo did not return any of the $69,000 Kershaw paid him. He was found civilly liable for the debt in 2021.
Also in 2021, Aaron and Melissa Baxter hired Jaramillo to do home unspecified improvement work, according to the affidavit. He did not complete $5,500 of the work he was hired to do, leading the couple to lose $10,500 in rental income they expected from the property on Brinton Place Road in West Goshen.
Finally, in May of 2021, owner David Nicholson hired Jaramillo to work on property in King of Prussia, paying him $7,300. Jaramillo did not complete work that had been agreed to in a change order.
At the time of sentencing, Jaramillo will be ordered to make restitution to the clients for the money they pid him.
He is represented by defense attorney Steve Jarmon of the West Chester law firm of Lamb McErlane
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
Source: Berkshire mont
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