Cape Coral contractor arrested for taking payments, but not completing work

Cape Coral Police said they arrested a contractor, accusing him of taking money from people to fix their docks, but never finishing the work.

Starting in June 2022, Cape Coral Police said several people came forward and said they made large, upfront payments to Dylan Wray Moon, the owner of Oceanside Marine Contracting, for dock work never completed.

Austin Schargorodski

“The first victim actually told us he gave Moon and his company, I believe it was $68,000 dollars for work as a 50% deposit, and that work was never done,” said Lisa Greenberg, Cape Coral Police Department Public Affairs Officer.

Greenberg said another man paid Moon $31,000, and a woman paid almost $35,000.

Austin Schargorodski

After people waited months for the work, Greenberg said Moon eventually blamed construction delays on Hurricane Ian, claiming he lost equipment, but continued taking money from other clients.

Police say Moon later told the woman he would not be completing the job, she would not be getting the money back, and that he was filing for bankruptcy.

Police say an investigation revealed Moon never bought materials for some projects and lied about filing for bankruptcy.

“Always look up on the department of business regulation if they have a contractor license, that’s a great first step," Greenberg explained. "If they do have a license, it’s always okay to try to negotiate - instead of providing so much money upfront, see if you can do installments rather than paying 50% up front with no work even done."

Moon is facing several grand theft and schemes to defraud charges.