Contractor Arrested On Lower Bucks Scam Charges

LOWER SOUTHAMPTON, PA — The owner of a Philadelphia construction company was arrested on Tuesday, charged with ripping off at least seven customers in the Lower Bucks County area.

John McDevitt, 48, was arrested with help from the Philadelphia Police Department, officials with the Lower Southampton Police announced.

McDevitt, the owner of McDevitt Construction and Design, is charged with home improvement fraud, theft by deception, deceptive business practices and receiving stolen property.

Police say that, in March 2020, they received a report that McDevitt entered into a contract with a Lower Southampton resident. He was paid for the work, then failed to complete it, police say.

During their investigation, police say, they learned that six other customers signed contracts with McDevitt Construction, made payments, then never got the work done that they had paid for. A warrent for McDevitt's arrest had been issued in January.

McDevitt was arraigned in Magisterial District Court, with bail set at 10 percent of $75,000, and taken to Bucks County Correctional Facility.