A New York home improvement contractor, Joseph Fienga, was sentenced Friday in Hackensack to three years in prison after being convicted of stealing tens of thousands of dollars from three Bergen County homeowners. Joseph Fienga did little or no work on the contracts in Ramsey, New Milford and Fair Lawn, New Jersey despite receiving large sums of money from the homeowners, prosecutors alleged. Judge Guida also ordered Fienga to make restitution of more than $30,000.
The sue the constractor under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-2 et seq., and the Home Improvement Practices regulations, N.J.A.C. 13:45A-16.1 et seq. The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act prohibits “the act, use or employment by any person of any unconscionable commercial practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, or the knowing, concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with intent that others rely upon such concealment, suppression or omission, in connection with” home improvement services. The Home Improvement Practices Regulations further define specific unlawful home improvement contractor practices.
A successful New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act claimant may be awarded treble (triple) damages, attorney’s fees and court costs. If you have been a victim of New Jersey Consumer Fraud by a contractor, call Gary M. Didieo, Esq. at Didieo Law Firm, LLC today to arrange a consultation to discuss the possibility of filing a New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act claim against your contractor. Gary M. Didieo represents consumers in NJ Consumer Fraud Act lawsuits in Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Hudson and Essex counties, and throughout the entire State of New Jersey.