An Ellisville company proprietor has been arrested and charged with fraud soon after getting accused of dishonest at least a few men and women out of just about $75,000 in home-fix work.
Arthur Cooksey, 44, was arrested Aug. 24 soon after a client submitted an affidavit in Jasper County Justice Court docket in the To start with Judicial District for home-repair service fraud, and he was charged. The Jasper County Sheriff’s Office obtained a complaint of home-repair fraud that happened in the Rose Hill Community, Sheriff Randy Johnson stated.
“The complainant reported that Cooksey Development experienced been contracted for home repair,” Johnson reported. “The complainant described that Cooksey requested and gained a significant amount of money of money up front to acquire materials for the task.”
Cooksey would not return to end the work right after receiving the resources, and the operate that was completed was not quality get the job done, according to the complaint. He was arrested and bonded out the future working day.
Cooksey posted to Facebook on Aug. 26 following he was arrested the very first time that he was arrested simply because of an unsatisfied purchaser.
“And a single of my competitors utilised that to his gain by slandering my company on social media,” Cooksey wrote. “As most of you know there is 2 sides to each individual story. Experienced it have been as negative as he built me glimpse, I wouldn’t be in a position to make this article.”
The purchaser who was unhappy with the company’s function had very little to do with dollars, they just did not like the operate that my fellas performed, Cooksey wrote.
“So I made the decision to clear the air with all my haters,” he ongoing.
Then the Jasper County Sheriff’s Section acquired yet another grievance creating the identical accusations against Cooksey.
Cooksey was arrested and charged for violation of parole by Jones County Sheriff’s Section then transported to Jasper County Sheriff’s Division after another affidavit was submitted Aug. 27 for home-maintenance fraud. Reportedly, Cooksey questioned for a substantial sum of funds to obtain components for the task, and immediately after acquiring the funds, he would not respond to the mobile phone or return calls. The 3 complaints suggest home-repair fraud in the amounts of $46,000, $12,000 and $16,000. In accordance to one particular complainant, Cooksey reportedly essential the clientele to fork out in dollars up entrance for constructing supplies.
Johnson explained the sheriff’s workplace has been given several far more grievances about Cooksey Construction, but no other affidavits have been filed in court.
Jenny Hayes Barnes Shoemake posted on Fb that she employed Cooksey Building to set in a new subfloor and new flooring in a tiny den and kitchen.
“I paid out him $12,000,” she wrote. “He place down the most inexpensive flooring. I paid out him $5,900 on Could 12 for products. We moved our furniture out three instances — they did not exhibit.”
They arrived on Aug. 2, she wrote, and she moved out and trusted them to do fantastic get the job done.
“Aug. 6 he required $500 additional for the components and $6,000 for labor I compensated him,” Shoemake wrote.
Shoemake wrote that when she noticed the repairs, she questioned Cooksey Design to return to resolve it and he refused.
He has ripped off a good deal of people today and mentioned he does catastrophe aid, which is terrifying said Jenny Shoemake.
“They did not tear out all the black molded plywood just place flooring around it,” she wrote. “The flooring sinks in.”
The primary factor is it has to be torn out once more for the reason that there is black mold in there, Shoemake stated.
“He preferred to do nonprofit rewards,” Shoemake stated. “He ripped off us out of $12,000. I have some messages the place men and women have gotten cheated by him right before. He would not even give us a material checklist and would not carry us the checklist or what it expenses.”
“I have a further contractor coming out to do an estimate,” Shoemake mentioned. “We did not know he was on parole when he did this and he is not accredited or bonded in Mississippi.”
In one more publish on Fb, Sherry Hayes wrote that Cooksey took a ton of funds for elements up front simply because he desired to lock in lumber prices at Lowe’s “by us paying him upfront.”
“He by no means procured any materials, and he has held our funds since he explained he has a deal among us? Almost everything he has claimed about placing the supplies on keep was a lie,” Hayes wrote. “Arthur Cooksey is in jail and his enterprise Cooksey’s Building wants to be shut down!”
Cooksey was convicted of two counts of grand larceny and theft in January 2014 and was sentenced to two a long time on property arrest, with eight a long time suspended, according to a Leader-Contact report. But the judge requested him to serve that eight many years at the rear of bars immediately after Jones County deputies observed meth, a crack pipe and pills in his car or truck during a website traffic cease in 2016. He was charged with possession of a controlled compound and possession of paraphernalia.
Jones County Sheriff’s Division bought a gram of meth from Cooksey, so he was charged with sale of a managed substance, in accordance to court docket information. He was also in violation of his release arrangement since he had unsuccessful to spend the just about $16,000 he owed to his victims and on courtroom fees.
Any other folks who think they have been defraud by Cooksey are questioned to get in touch with their neighborhood law enforcement organizations.