Attorney General's News Release
November 7, 2006
St. Louis home repair contractor arrested, charged with eight counts of consumer fraud
St. Louis, Mo. — A home repair contractor from St. Louis who pleaded guilty earlier this year to seven counts of consumer fraud now faces a new eight-count felony indictment charging him with criminally defrauding one of his customers. Thomas Mark Hogan (DOB — 3/6/50), of the 7000 block of Arcadia, is charged with eight counts of unlawful merchandising practices in an indictment returned by the St. Louis City grand jury. The grand jury returned the indictment at the request of Attorney General Jay Nixon, whose office will prosecute the case.
The indictment charges Hogan with telling the consumer that he would do specific home repair work for an advance fee, but that Hogan had no intention of doing the work for which he was paid. The work included replacing a kitchen floor, painting the exterior of the consumer's house and removing and replacing carpet. The indictment does not disclose the amount of the advance fees Hogan allegedly took.
Hogan was arrested Monday (Nov. 6); his bond has been set at $15,000. He has a hearing scheduled for Nov. 15 in St. Louis City Circuit Court.
In May, Hogan pleaded guilty to a seven-count indictment of unlawful merchandising practices returned by a St. Louis County grand jury. The indictment was also returned at Nixon's request. At sentencing, the court ordered Hogan to repay $64,133 for 11 consumers he defrauded; he was given a suspended execution of sentence and placed on probation for five years. To date, Hogan has paid $800 of the restitution ordered by the court.
Unlawful merchandising practices is a class D felony under Missouri law, punishable by up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The charges against Hogan are merely accusations and, as in all criminal cases, the defendant is presumed innocent until or unless proven guilty in a court of law.
Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).
All media inquiries should be directed to the Press Secretary.
E-mail Phone: 573-751-8844 Fax: 573-751-5818