CHRISTIANSTED — Attorney General Denise George announced Monday that the Virgin Islands Department of Justice has arrested a man who misrepresented himself as a licensed contractor to perform work repairs to the homes of five St. Croix families.
V.I. Department of Justice Special Agent, Leonardo Carrion, Sr. conducted a fraud investigation and executed a warrant for the arrest of Juan Rosario, 56, of Frederiksted on felony charges of five counts each- obtaining money by false pretense, grand larceny, and embezzlement by clerks, agents, employees, etc. in relation to receiving payment for repairs to hurricane-damaged homes, that he did not intend to complete.
Superior Court Magistrate Miguel Camacho found that there was probable cause to sustain all of the charges and move the case forward.
Bail was set at $100,000 and Rosario was ordered to abide by several court-imposed bail conditions, which include no contact with the witnesses and reporting to the probation office weekly.
Rosario is also not allowed to leave the territory and must reside with a third-party custodian.
According to an affidavit in support of the arrest warrant filed by DOJ Special Agent Carrion, the investigation revealed that Rosario presented himself as a licensed contractor to five families on St. Croix.
The victims were seeking repairs to their damaged homes, following hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. Rosario offered to perform repair work to the homes, but to date has either not completed the job he began or had not done any work at all.
However, Rosario collected payment from the victims who reside in Estate Whim, Estate White Bay, Peter’s Rest, Judith’s Fancy and Tulipan Welcome respectively.
All five victims have indicated numerous unsuccessful attempts in contacting Rosario after receiving approximately $91,688.00 to perform work repairs to their homes for an agreed upon price.
All of the victims took their complaints to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs and the case was referred to the Department of Justice at which time the DOJ Special Investigations Division commenced the investigation that resulted in the arrest and charges.
According to DOJ Special Agent Carrion, an inspection of the Department Licensing and Consumer Affairs’ files revealed that Rosario is not a licensed contractor within the Virgin Islands.
AG George reminds the public that any person charged with a crime in the Virgin Islands is considered to be innocent until proven guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The arraignment of Juan Rosario is scheduled for March 11.