A home improvement contractor was convicted on Thursday, for of ripping off nine homeowners in Bucks County and Montgomery County of tens of thousands of dollars of work he never completed.
Joseph Eibell, 48, of Huntingdon Valley, was found guilty of nine felony counts each of contractor fraud, deceptive business practices and theft by deception. The trial began on Monday.
Eibell was originally charged in June 2022 with committing fraud against four victims.
In one case, a Bristol Township man met with Eibell in April 2019 and hired 3 Brothers Renovation to complete several jobs at his home. The total cost of the project, which included a new roof and an addition, as well as interior remodeling, totaled $120,000.
In a second instance a second victim, living in Bristol Borough, said she met with Eibell in June 2021 and hired his company to remediate water damage caused by a plumbing issue. The project would cost $50,000, and she was required to make a deposit of $15,000, split into two checks.
She made the deposit, but after approximately one month with no progress on the project, Eibell requested an additional $15,000, also split into two checks, for materials. The homeowner paid that money in July 2021, but the work stopped on the projects and the materials she paid for never arrived.
She said she made numerous unsuccessful attempts to get Eibell to repay the deposits and provide the purchased materials.
After his conviction, Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley revoked Eibell’s bail as he awaits sentencing, which is scheduled for next month.
The investigation found that from April 2019 untianced payments for work through his Lower Southampton Township-based home improvement business, 3 Brothers Renovation, and then failed to perform the represented quantity of work.
Other victims included a Falls Township man who hired Eibell for a $90,000 project that he abandoned after the victim made $54,000 in payments; and an Upper Southampton Township woman who paid Eibell $24,000 for an exterior home project that he never performed.
At the time he was charged, the investigation found that Eibell and his company received contracts for work in Bucks, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties and additional victims were located in Upper Southampton Township, Warminster Township and Lower Moreland Township and Pottstown in Montgomery County, and one victim in Philadelphia. Those victims lost more than $100,000 for projects that Eibell and his company never completed.
Upper Southampton Township Police Detective James W. Shirmer was the lead investigator in this case, which was referred to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office by the Bucks County Office of Consumer Protection. Deputy District Attorney Alan J. Garabedian prosecuted this case.
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