News Release
01/23/2012
Home Repairman Pleads No Contest to Fraud; Ordered to Pay Restitution
Repairman barred from home repair business in Oklahoma
OKLAHOMA CITY – An Oklahoma home repairman pled no contest Monday to one count of home repair fraud and was ordered to pay $60,000 in restitution, Attorney General Scott Pruitt said.
Mark Stacy Whitney, 51, was charged in Oklahoma, Canadian, Carter and Pottawatomie counties with defrauding homeowners in a home repair scheme that often left homeowners with unfinished projects. Some homeowners paid up to 95 percent of the cost of construction, and the work was never completed.
Under the plea agreement entered today in Pottawatomie County District Court, Whitney received a 5-year deferred sentence and probation. The probation is conditional upon payment of $60,000 in restitution and compliance with an injunction that permanently bars Whitney from engaging in the home repair business in Oklahoma. Restitution will be paid to victims.
Assistant attorneys general filed charges in Pottawatomie County in February 2010 after an investigation by the AG’s Public Protection Unit uncovered multiple violations. In September, he was charged with one count of home repair fraud in Carter County; two counts of home repair fraud and one count of elder exploitation in Canadian County; and one count of home repair fraud and one count of elder exploitation in Oklahoma County.
The Public Protection Unit protects vulnerable consumers from fraudulent, unfair or deceptive business practices and can provide conciliation services to help resolve complaints against businesses. For more information or to file a complaint, go online to www.oag.ok.gov or call (405) 521-2029.
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