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Police Arrest New Jersey Contractor Accused Of Scamming Residents Out Of More Than $240,000

LITTLE EGG HARBOR, N.J. (AP) — Police have arrested a New Jersey contractor who they allege took nearly a quarter-million dollars from clients but never started the promised work.

The Ocean County Prosecutor's Office says 56-year-old Peter Rinaldi, of Little Egg Harbor, was arrested Friday more than a week after authorities started looking for him.

Peter Rinaldi Ocean County Contractor Wanted For Allegedly Scamming Residents Out Of More Than $240K
Credit: CBS3

Authorities say Rinaldi operated under the companies Donovan Mark Custom Builders and Mark Anthony Custom Builders. They allege that he accepted checks from 12 clients totaling $247,225 between July 2014 and August 2016 for renovations at private homes but put the money into his personal bank account and spent in on himself.

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Rinaldi is charged with theft by deception and theft by failure to make required disposition of property received; it's unclear whether he has an attorney.

(Copyright 2018 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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