Contractor Charged, Again, in Theft From a Homeowner

A Suffern man who already faces charges that he bilked homeowners out of thousands of dollars through his contractoring busines has been hit with a new grand larceny charge, according to Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe.

Scott Motz, 43, of 27 Highland Ave., Suffern, doing business as S.T.M. Construction, is now accused of stealing $4,400 from a Suffern homeowner who hired him to replace a roof in June. Zugibe said Motz is accused of performing no work despite having been paid.

Motz was charged following an investigation by the Rockland County Special Investigations Unit of the District Attorney's Office. The latest charge follows previous allegations in which Motz was accused of grand larency in August in connection with a project in New City. Zugibe said Motz also faces similar charges in the Town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County.

In the New City project, Motz was accused of failing to return $6,750 paid by a customer who hired him to build a car port in December 2011. In that incident, Zugibe said Motz was accused of producing a false invoice from a lumber company in an attempt to deceive the homeowner.

At the time he was paid for that project, Rockland officials said Motz's contracting license was under suspension.

In the latest incident, Motz is accused of third-degree grand larceny for failing to return the customer's money, and he is accused of failing to provide an accounting of the victim's money.

Motz was arraigned in Ramapo Town Court and released pending a Jan. 8, 2013, hearing.