Contractor accused of defrauding customers transferred to Vanderburgh Co.
EVANSVILLE — A Southern Indiana contractor accused of bilking more than $100,000 from customers and business associates was booked into the Vanderburgh County jail Thursday, though a scheduled court appearance this week has been moved to April 9..
The former owner of Elite Construction Systems, 46-year-old Matthew S. Gates, pleaded guilty to charges of theft and fraud in Posey County March 7, opening the door for prosecutors in Vanderburgh, Warrick and Gibson counties to pursue their own cases against the contractor.
Across all nine of Gates' remaining criminal cases in Southern Indiana, prosecutors accuse him of failing to complete expensive construction projects for which he received some form of compensation, usually in the form of down payments.
Customers described some of these costly encounters to the Courier & Press, including two victims who said they were forced to live in an RV for months after Gates' company tore their roof off and never finished replacing it.
Others described enduring "emotional distress" after they allegedly lost tens-of-thousands of dollars to Gates and incurred damage to their homes from half-completed projects.
More:Local prosecutors considering plea deal for contractor accused in several fraud cases
In Posey County, Gates pleaded "open to the court" to charges of misdemeanor home improvement fraud and theft of between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony, on March 15. According to court records, Gates did not establish a formal plea agreement with Posey County prosecutors.
Judge Craig Goedde sentenced Gates to serve a total of 3 years in prison with one year suspended to probation and the remaining two years cancelled out by credit for "time served."
Gates was ordered to pay more than $70,000 in restitution to four victims and will be required to serve two years probation, court records show.
Jeremy and Clarissa Muller, two of the Posey County victims mentioned in probable cause affidavits, told the Courier & Press Gates' failure to complete a roofing job upended their lives, and in September 2021, a civil court ordered Gates to pay the Muller's upwards of $60,000 in damages.
"He's been sitting in jail ever since right after the civil case," Clarissa Muller said. "He's not going to pay any of it."
More:Evansville contractor accused of home improvement fraud gets new charge in Vanderburgh County
Transferred to Vanderburgh County
According to court records, the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office charged Gates with nine offenses between February and March 2022:
Three counts of theft where value of property is between $750 and $50,000, a Level 6 felony.
Three counts of misdemeanor home improvement fraud where the contract price exceeds $1,000.
Three counts of misdemeanor fraud.
But by March 18, 2022, Vanderburgh County prosecutors' learned Gates had been arrested in Posey County on similar charges, according to court records, effectively putting his other cases on hold.
Attorney:Could be 'years' before victims get money back in alleged home improvement fraud
On Friday, Gates was scheduled to make his first appearance in Vanderburgh County Circuit Court since March 20221, but the court rescheduled the hearing for Monday morning. On Monday, the hearing was pushed to April 9.
Gates is currently being held without bond at the Vanderburgh County jail.
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Contractor accused of defrauding customers transferred to Vanderburgh Co.
