Pennsylvania Man Who Previously Served Prison Sentence for Investment Fraud Gets Conviction for Home Contractor Fraud

Anyone who has ever tried to find a job after getting a criminal conviction can tell you how much people with prior convictions face an uphill battle; perhaps a prior conviction is even a factor in your own current debt problems or those of someone close to you.  Sometimes people must enter an entirely new profession if, as a condition of their sentence, the court orders them not to seek employment in their previous line of work; this condition most often applies when people are accused of financial crimes or of misconduct in a profession such as medicine or police work.  Everyone deserves a chance to make a fresh start on the right side of the law, but a Pennsylvania man who started working as a home contractor after serving a prison sentence for financial crimes abused the trust of his clients and faced criminal charges a second time.  If you have suffered financial losses because of fraud or false statements by a building contractor, contact a Philadelphia home contractor fraud lawyer.

It Started With Defrauding Investors

Ryan Blumling had a troubled past before he ever offered to make repairs to a homeowner’s property.  In 2015, he was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 63 months in prison.  The fraud conviction stemmed from two separated schemes.  In the first, he offered victims the opportunity to invest in a project that, in fact, did not exist; 130 people invested before Blumling got caught.  In the second scheme, he offered to lend large sums of money to loan applicants when, in fact, he had nothing to lend.

Defendant Collected Money to Repair Neighbors’ Houses but Never Performed the Repairs

Upon completing his sentence, Blumling was released from prison in 2021 and began the three years of probation that the court had ordered him to complete after his release.  He found a job as a parking valet but also offered to perform repairs to the houses and driveways of several of his neighbors.  By the end of 2022, Blumling had signed contracts to do $77,000 of contracting work, including building fences, driveways, and sidewalks, and the customers paid him a total of $60,000 as advance payments.  Blumling never started the work, though, and the customers eventually complained to the police.  The probation officers assigned to Blumling’s case repeatedly asked him about the delays in starting the work, and he gave a series of excuses, ranging from losing his wallet to getting engaged to breaking off his engagement.  Between this and other probation violations such as traveling outside the western Pennsylvania area without permission, the court ordered him to go back to prison.  In September 2023, the court ordered him to serve 40 months in prison.

Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com About Home Contractor Fraud

A Philadelphia consumer law attorney can help you if you suffered financial losses because of fraud by a home improvement contractor.  Contact CONSUMERLAWPA.com to set up a free, confidential consultation.

Source:

unionprogress.com/2023/09/27/convicted-moon-con-artist-up-to-old-tricks-once-again-u-s-probation-says-and-heads-back-to-federal-prison/