Get Smart . . . Fraudulent Contractor Alert
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The Bucks County Crimes Against Older Adults Task Force would like to make the public aware of a fraudulent contractor, James Mucci of Mucci Concrete in Falls Township. This contractor has had a long history of complaints in civil and criminal court. In the last month, Mr. Mucci was charged with contractor fraud and theft on two separate occasions. The fraudulent activity was allegedly conducted in a variety of ways, either Mr. Mucci did not start work when scheduled, work was never finished or completed in an untimely manner, he failed to pay vendors and when contacted by customers, Mucci did not return deposits paid upfront. Several townships also cited Mr. Mucci with working without a license or permit, The Bucks County District Attorney's Office is investigating complaints from other towns in Lower Bucks County. According to Mike Bannon of the Bucks County Office of Consumer Protection, the current criminal charges follow years of his office receiving complaints about James Mucci. The criminal case against Mucci was a collaborative effort by the District Attorney’s Office, the Bucks County Crimes Against Elder Abuse Task Force, Middletown Police and Consumer Protection. One legislative asset in filing
criminal charges is the Pennsylvania "Home Improvement Fraud Law," which went into effect in 2009.
The “Home Improvement Fraud Law” establishes guidelines, registration and penalties for contractors, and is designed to help the contractor and homeowner stay on an equal playing field for home improvement projects. This important legislation for consumers was introduced by state Senator Tommy Tomlinson. For more information about this law, consumers should visit the PA Attorney General’s website at
www.attorneygeneral.gov. Before this legislation, the police and other agencies needed to see a pattern of fraud among multiple victims. Now, authorities just need one incident of alleged fraud to file criminal charges. Additionally,the contractor can be charged with a felony is he/she receives more than $2,000 for a project.
Through this investigation, Mucci’s name was found to be included in many court documents.
Please note, not every contractor or home improvement company is fraudulent, the majority of businesses are efficiently and honestly run. However, if you had a negative experience with James Mucci, Mucci Concrete or another fraudulent contractor, the Task Force encourages you to report problems to your local police department or contact Bucks County Consumer Protection at 215-348-
7442 or 215-348-6060.
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