Federal authorities on Thursday arrested a contractor accused of bilking victims of Hurricane Sandy out of more than $1.5 million by skipping out on repair jobs after taking their money.
Jamie Lynn Lawson
Jamie Lynn Lawson, 42, was arrested early Thursday morning at an extended stay hotel in Florence, South Carolina, by U.S. Marshals in that area, said Michael Schroeder, spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service in New Jersey.
Schroeder said his office's New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force coordinated with a fugitive task force in South Carolina after developing leads about Lawson's whereabouts.
Lawson, owner of Lawson Renovations LLC and operating under the name J&N Construction, has been wanted since he was indicted Dec. 14 on charges of theft and money laundering relating to allegations he accepted payment to repair homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy but performed little or no work before disappearing.
He initially was charged with stealing $480,000, but since word of his indictment spread and more alleged victims came forward, authorities obtained a superseding indictment accusing him of scamming 34 homeowners in Monmouth and Ocean counties out of $1.5 million.
After Sandy, Lawson moved to New Jersey and became a registered contractor, which allowed him to work on Sandy-damaged homes. But authorities said Lawson obtained approval of that registration fraudulently by lying on his application and saying he hadn't been convicted of a crime. Authorities later learned he had been convicted of crimes in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas.
Lawson will be jailed locally in South Carolina to await his extradition to New Jersey, Schroeder said.
Officials with the Ocean County Sheriff's Office are members of the Regional Fugitive Task Force.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.