Waverly man sentenced after swindling $5K in contractor scheme

WAVERLY, N.Y. ( WETM ) – A Waverly man has been sentenced to serve time in state prison after he and two other men swindled compensation money from a woman without completing contractor work they had agreed to do for her.

According to the Bradford County District Attorney’s Office, David M. Evangelista, 43, was sentenced to serve a minimum of one year and a maximum of 3 years after he was found guilty of theft by deception, a felony in the third degree. Evangelista must also pay a $5,000 restitution to the victim upon release from prison.

Evangelista’s conviction comes after he and two other men worked to deceive a woman in the Herrickville area in June of 2022. At this time, Evangelista accepted $5,000 from the woman after he agreed to build an addition to her barn to house her horses.

After a year, the work was yet to be completed and the woman received no contact from Evangelista or the other men. After some time, the other two men were located and charged with misdemeanors and ordered to pay restitution.

In addition to paying restitution, one of the men was sentenced to serve 8 days in the Bradford County Correctional Facility and the other was sentenced to serve a minimum of 53 days and a maximum of 23 months.

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