Jefferson County contractor sentenced for defrauding elderly St. Louis woman

ST. LOUIS – A Hillsboro man appeared in U.S. District Court on Wednesday and was sentenced for helping another man defraud an elderly St. Louis woman out of more than a half-million dollars.

Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri said Austin James, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft in May.

James told the court he helped Gino Rives, 36, exploit the 80-year-old victim, who’d hired Rives in January 2021 to repair her roof.

Rives falsely claimed to be a contractor and the victim hired him to renovate the interior of her 1,100-square-foot home. Rives instructed the woman to write checks to himself, James, and others. The checks totaled more than $550,000, with James receiving eight checks between January 2021 and March 2023, totaling $94,606 for alleged work on the victim’s kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, basement, and foundation. James did not do any work on the victim’s home.

The victim’s bank ultimately contacted the St. Louis City Building Inspector’s Office, which determined that any work that had been done on the home totaled no more than $50,000.

A federal judge sentenced James to five years of probation, 90 days of house arrest, and 80 hours community service. James must also repay $94,606 to the victim’s estate.

Meanwhile, Rives was sentenced in June to 87 months in federal prison and ordered to repay more than $1 million to elder fraud victims .

Rives’ mother, Zella Rives, was sentenced in Jul y for helping her son fake a mental disability for more than 13 years so he could claim and receive government benefits.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2.