Home contractor to serve over seven years in prison for fraud in Delaware County
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DELAWARE, Ohio (WCMH) – A home-improvement contractor with a history of defrauding customers will spend several years in prison for the theft of over $500,000, the attorney general’s office announced Tuesday.
Ryan Needels, of Marion, was indicted in August 2023 for accepting large down payments from 21 customers across nine Ohio counties without completing the contracted work agreed upon. Needels, who is the owner of Clear View Construction, was investigated by the Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) in the Consumer Protection Section of the Attorney General’s Office.
According to the report, between June 2021 and October 2022, an investigation revealed that Needels used social media to attract customers, then had them pay large sums in advance for the construction of pole barns, garages and other home amenities that were never built.
The AG’s office said it received twelve consumer complaints of poor workmanship from the company from Aug. 6, 2020, to April 11, 2022. Complaints detailed instances of Clear View clearing land or doing other minimal work, but not following through with construction and cutting all communication with consumers.
Contracts show the company agreed to refund down payments if construction wasn’t completed by a certain date, Yost said. However, the refunds were never delivered.
Prior to the indictment, the attorney general’s office sought a resolution through a civil lawsuit.
Eventually, Needels pleaded guilty to 23 criminal charges, including theft, telecommunications fraud and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. A total of 28 charges, including several for money laundering, were dropped as part of the agreement.
A Delaware County judge sentenced Needels to serve 7 ½ years in prison, which includes 5 years for the ECU case and 2 ½ years for violating the terms of a probation sentence that stems from two previous fraud cases in Delaware County.