Contact: Beth Stone
508-584-8120
BROCKTON – A man has been indicted on charges that he allegedly worked as a contractor unlicensed and uninsured, and billed 10 victims for thousands of dollars in shoddy construction, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz announced today.
Yesterday, a Plymouth County Grand Jury returned 50 indictments against Stephen S. Straz (DOB: 9/1/86) of Quincy charging him with Larceny, Home Improvement Contractor Violations, Failure to Have Workers’ Compensation Insurance, Perjury, Forgery and Uttering. He will be arraigned in Plymouth Superior Court on the charges at a later date.
The indictments follow a five-month long Grand Jury investigation led by Hanson Police and Sergeant Eugene K. Andrews following victim complaints about Straz. Straz has been operating as a contractor since 2015, and received considerable sums of money from clients who hired him to perform various building projects on their homes. In the course of these home improvement and construction projects, the indictments allege that Straz made numerous false statements about his licensure, his expertise, insurance status and his ability to complete the projects. Straz allegedly forged signatures, generated fake and fraudulent documents and committed perjury on affidavits in order to conceal his lack of licensure and insurance.
The investigation further found that Straz engaged in deceptive business practices, including falsely advertising his licensure as construction supervisor, and creating or knowingly allowing false testimonial endorsements to be published about his corporation, Straz Construction Inc. Straz additionally operated the following: Unique Building & Contracting, Inc., Unique Custom Kitchens & More, Inc., Straz Custom Kitchens & More Inc., 13 Hayes St. LLC, New England Property Ventures LLC, and 216-218 Central Ave. LLC.
In total, the indictments allege that there are 10 victims who contracted with Straz to complete construction or home improvement projects, ranging in price from thousands of dollars to one project which homeowners paid more than $100,000 to Straz. The projects that Straz contracted for but did incomplete or substandard work include construction of homes and kitchen, bedroom and bathroom remodels,
The 50 indictments Straz is charged with are: Home Improvement Contractor Violations, Perjury, Larceny of Property Over $1,200 by Single Scheme, Obtaining a Signature by False Pretense, Defacement of Real or Personal Property, Forgery. Larceny of Property, less than $1,200, Common and Notorious Thief, Employer Failure to Have Workers’ Compensation, Larceny over $250 from a Person Over 60, State Building Code Violations, Uttering and Identity Fraud.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Alex Zane and was investigated by Hanson Police, led by Sgt. Andrews.