Canton Man Reports Contractor's Threats to Accuse Him of Fraud

A Canton man building a residential home in Canton told police that the sub contractor he hired was threatening to accuse him of fraud, according to a police report.

The man told police he hired the contractor to finish the construction job under his supervision in January with a verbal agreement to complete the job by the end of June, the report said. 

The initial agreed upon cost was $210,000, however the man told police expenses had increased from additional expenses to $237,000. He also said the contractor is requesting additional money, raising the total amount to approximately $252,000, the report said. 

The man said he has paid a total of $225,000 and if the project would be completed today, he would owe $11,000, to cover various issues that arose during the building process, including water removal from the basement. The man said the contractor is requesting a final payment of $28,500 more than the agreed upon amount, according to the report. 

The man told police that he received an email from the contractor on July 27 informing him of lien forms that would go out as soon as the contractor had them notarized, the report said.

On July 28, the man said he received a text from the contractor saying, “I need a resolution to our issue by Monday or I will take this situation to the next level. If I report what I know, somebody is going to jail for fraud," according to the report.

The man told police that he was concerned about the contractor entering and damaging the property, located on Iman Street, the report said.

The man declined to prosecute, saying he wanted his complaint documented, according to the report.