Superstorm Sandy contractor gets three-year prison term for scamming 19 homeowners

A contractor convicted of scamming 19 New Jersey homeowners following Superstorm Sandy has been sentenced to three years in state prison, authorities announced.

George LaRosa, 50, of Barnegat must also pay total restitution of $456,650 to the victims under the sentence imposed Friday in the Ocean County Superior Court in Toms River, Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer said.

Authorities say LaRosa, who had pled guilty to theft by failure to make required disposition last September, operated under the company GL Construction.

Between February 2014 and June 2015, LaRosa contracted with 19 homeowners throughout Stafford, Lacey, Toms River, Long Beach, Ship Bottom, and Little Egg Harbor to repair their storm-ravaged homes, according to prosecutors.

But Billhimer said LaRosa “converted the vast majority of the monies paid to him by the homeowners to his own personal use, closed his business and abandoned the homeowners in various stages of disrepair.”

The prosecutor praised the investigative efforts of local police departments and county prosecutors.