Owner Of Home Improvement Company Sentenced For Fraud

Terrance J. King, 47, of Columbus was sentenced to 48 months in prison for defrauding homeowners, businesses, the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in connection with a home improvement repair company he operated. King was also ordered to serve three years under court supervision after his prison time, pay $241,076.34 in restitution to the IRS and pay $7,050 in restitution to CMHA.

King was also ordered for forfeit $40,280.94 to be used to pay restitution to victims.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Kathy A. Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS), and Barry McLaughlin, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General announced the sentence handed down today by Senior U.S. District Judge James L. Graham.

According to court documents, during 2008, 2009 and 2010 King owned and operated Home Improvement Terrance King, doing business in the Dayton, Springfield, and Columbus, Ohio areas. King or his employees solicited business at properties which needed roofing repairs. King contacted the clients’ insurance companies and filed claims for the repairs. King accepted the insurance money as payment for services rendered.

King failed to report all of the income earned from his company on his federal income tax returns for those three years. For the 2009 income tax year, King claimed total income in the amount of $7,919, when his actual total income was $243,656.12. The total tax loss to the IRS as a result of the false income tax returns filed by King was $241,076.34.

While earning the income from Home Improvement Terrance King, on or about September 18, 2008, King submitted to the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority a recertification application package to continue to receive subsidized housing assistance supported by funds from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. In this package, King submitted specific documents representing that he earned little or no income and had no assets.

“In addition to defrauding home and business owners by placing faulty shingles on their roofs and failing to perform contracted work, King lied to both HUD and the IRS in avoiding the payment of hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes on his profits and to collect improper housing benefits,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Fulton told the court prior to sentencing.

“Honest and law abiding citizens are fed up with the likes of those who use deceit and fraud to line their pockets with other people’s money," said Kathy A. Enstrom, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS, Criminal Investigation, Cincinnati Field Office . "Those individuals who engage in this type of financial fraud should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable."

King previously pleaded guilty on November 22, 2014 to one count each of money laundering, making false claims, and filing a false federal income tax return with the IRS.

U.S. Attorney Stewart commended the investigation conducted by the IRS and HUD Office of Inspector General, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Fulton and Jessica Knight, who prosecuted the case.