N.J. Sandy Scammer On The Lam Arrested In South Carolina: U.S. Marshals Service

An infamous Superstorm Sandy scammer who bilked New Jersey residents out of $1.5 million by failing to do work he had signed contracts for and instead spent the money on vehicles and personal expenses has been arrested in South Carolina.

Jamie Lynn Lawson, 42, was arrested on Thursday at an extended stay hotel in Florence, South Carolina, by U.S. Marshals, said Michael Schroeder, spokesman for the New Jersey U.S. Marshals Service, according to nj.com.

Lawson has been a fugitive wanted in Ocean County since Dec. 14, when he was indicted on charges of theft and money laundering in 14 cases of contractor fraud in Ocean and Monmouth counties. He accepted payment to repair homes damaged by Superstorm Sandy, but did little to no work on any of the projects, according to an earlier Patch story.

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Lawson was initially was charged with stealing $480,000, but after word of his indictment spread and more alleged victims came forward, authorities obtained a superceding indictment accusing him of scamming 34 homeowners in Monmouth and Ocean counties out of $1.5 million, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office spokesman Al Della Fave has said.

"The Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office superseded that indictment to include 34 victims totaling approximately $1.5 million," Della Fave said in December. "It's alleged Lawson took money from the 34 homeowners in Ocean & Monmouth Counties and then did either no work or less than contracted services on their homes. He allegedly used the money for vehicles and personal expenses."

Lawson moved to New Jersey shortly after Superstorm Sandy and applied to the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs to be registered as a home improvement contractor. The state registered Lawson based upon his material misrepresentations on the application, including his failure to disclose his prior criminal convictions. Shortly thereafter, he began taking contracts to perform Sandy-related renovations and new home construction. He was the owner of Lawson Renovations LLC and operated under the name J&N Construction.

One of the people he's accused of bilking, Robert Steimle of Mantoloking Road in Brick, was left with his home partially raised and damaged, but in no condition for Steimle to live in. Steimle had been fighting for months to get assistance from the state when Lawson was

The specific counts of the original indictment include money laundering, numerous counts of theft by failure to make required disposition, tampering with public records by submitting fictitious home improvement contract application unregistered home improvement contracting, Della Fave said.

Ocean County Superior Court Judge Patricia B. Roe, set Lawson's bail at$150,000, restricted him from engaging in home improvement & building contracts and required him to surrender his passport, Della Fave said in December.

Lawson will be jailed locally in South Carolina to await his extradition to New Jersey, Schroeder said.

Image: Courtesy of the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office