The 41-year-old owner of MJM Landscape and Hardscape has been arrested on a pair of warrants in a case in which he allegedly cheated an 81-year-old Villager.
The Villager had paid $5,000 in advance for the construction of a pergola.Â
Earlier this month, deputies arrested Jason Ashley Mayhew, 44, on a Sumter County warrant charging him with fraud and grand theft. Because Mayhew was on felony probation for fraud at the time of the incident, he was also charged with violation of probation.
At the time, Mayhew had been representing MJM Landscape and Hardscape. He entered into a contract to build the pergola at the Villager’s residence, and accepted a $5,000 down payment. Although Mayhew told the victim work would begin in two weeks, no permits were ever pulled, no supplies were ever delivered, and no work was ever done. In June, the victim filed a complaint with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office.
MJM Landscape and Hardscape owner Michael McGowan was taken into custody Thursday at Bob’s 24-Hour Bail Bond in Bushnell. McGowan was released after posting $4,000 bond.
McGowan had been arrested earlier this year after accepting $8,000 from a Village of LaBelle couple who said the promised work was never performed. McGowan escaped prosecution in that case.
