Published: July 20, 2023, 4:59 PM
MARION COUNTY, Fla. – A Marion County business owner has been arrested following several reports of taking customers’ money without ever doing any work, according to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office said.
James Johns, 47, has been accused of collecting deposits for construction work promised by his company, Freaky Fast Construction, with no intention of actually starting the projects.
The first report against Johns came in March 2023, where deputies said the victim claimed to have paid Johns a $3,000 deposit for a new roof. The victim said the contract they signed in December 2022 stated that construction work would begin the following month, but they hadn’t been able to get in contact with Johns since then.
SunBiz records show Freaky Fast Construction, LLC lost its ability to do business in the state of Florida in September 2022, due to a failure to file a required annual report with the state.
Deputies said that Johns eventually responded to the victims claiming he was in the hospital and stating he would give them a full refund, but then never did.
A similar report came in April 2023, where the victim told deputies they paid Johns a $3,500 deposit in October 2022. The victim said the contract they signed stated the construction work would be completed in December, but again, they received no further communication from Johns aside from his claims of being in the hospital.
Deputies questioned Johsn who admitted to entering the contracts and collecting deposit payments, but then said he never had an injury that would prevent him from completing the construction work, records show.
Johns also claimed to have purchased the materials needed to complete the jobs, but could not provide proof or an explanation of where they were, deputies said.
Deputies said they then discovered Johns was running Freaky Fast Construction without a licensed contractor.
Johns faces two counts of contractor fraud and two counts of grand theft.