Company promised to elevate, replace homes and then disappeared, officials say
TRENTON -- State authorities have accused a bankrupt Ocean County home improvement company of taking more than a million dollars from Hurricane Sandy victims for storm repairs they never finished.
The state Division of Consumer Affairs claims in a complaint filed in Superior Court that the Manahawkin-based Price Home Group left at least nine homeowners in the lurch in the aftermath of the storm.
An attorney for one of the company's owners, Scott Cowan, called the state's claims "reckless and demonstrably false. The attorney, Christopher Adams, said in an e-mail that state authorities were using Price Home Group "as a scapegoat for their failed programs."
Acting Attorney General Christopher Porrino said Hurricane Sandy victims "were allegedly victimized again when these contractors took their money without delivering the work the residents paid for."
The company, run by Cowan and Jonathan Price, advertised itself as a "one-stop solution" for homeowners looking to elevate their homes or replace them with modular ones.
A screen capture of the Price Home Group website. Authorities claim the company never delivered on Hurricane Sandy repairs it contracted to finish. But in reality, authorities claim, they created more problems for storm victims by repeatedly rescheduling and delaying work on the homes, failing to secure necessary permits and never returning to fix shoddy work.
In at least one case, the company allegedly arranged for the demolition of a storm-damaged home they were supposed to replace with a modular one -- and then never delivered the modular home.
In another, they allegedly abandoned a project while the home sat on temporary supports.
N.J. woman sentenced for Sandy fraud
Adams said the instances where work wasn't completed were "solely related to ordinary business issues that plague builders across the country - such as customer refusals, engineering issues and state funding."
Between September 2014 and June of 2015, state officials say the company took in $898,331 in federal funds through the state Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation program and another $220,483 paid for by the homeowners out of pocket.
In their complaint, the state Division of Consumer Affairs accuses the company of violating the state Consumer Fraud Act and a number of other statutes.
The division is seeking restitution for the customers and to recover the government grants and other costs. It is also looking to ban Price and Cowan from operating a home improvement company in New Jersey in the future.
Price Home Group has filed for federal bankruptcy protection, authorities said. The company's listed number is no longer in service and an attorney for Cowan did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.
S.P. Sullivan may be reached at ssullivan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter. Find NJ.com on Facebook.