Huntsville man jailed on home repair fraud, forgery charges
A Huntsville man is charged with home repair fraud and forgery after Decatur residents reported they hired and paid the man who claimed to be a licensed contractor to perform work at their residences, but he failed to do so, according to Decatur police.
The Police Department said Johnny Ray Jordan, 61, of Huntsville, was charged Monday with two counts of second-degree forgery and two counts of home repair fraud. It is not the first time. Alabama court records show Jordan has been charged with theft, forgery or fraud in Morgan, Limestone, Madison and Cullman counties more than 40 times since 1994.
According to affidavits by Detective Eric Keller, Jordan represented himself as a licensed contractor in the state.
“Due to the fact that Jordan does not own the company or have a valid Alabama contractor license these documents have fictitious information that have been falsely made with an invalid license number in order to deceive the resident into believing that Jordan is a certified license contractor,” Keller wrote.
In the affidavit, Keller said he spoke with the Alabama Licensing Board which confirmed that Jordan had never been issued a contractor license through Alabama.
The affidavits stated that on March 18, a Decatur resident hired Jordan to renovate the upstairs of a home. On March 17 and March 21, Jordan presented the resident with two contracts for the renovation work totaling $19,400, Keller wrote. A deposit of $8,500 was paid and work was to begin March 29.
Jordan started the work on April 4 “but did not return to complete the job,” according to the affidavit. “The victim fired Jordan due to him not completing the work and eventually received their money back.”
Morgan County sheriff’s spokesman Mike Swafford said Jordan remained in the county jail on Tuesday afternoon with a cash bond set at $40,000.
Second-degree forgery and a second conviction of home repair fraud are both Class C felonies, punishable up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $15,000.