An Ocklawaha landscaper has been arrested after allegedly ripping off a Del Webb Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club resident who paid him $750.
On Sept. 15, a 77-year-old Spruce Creeker reported that he was a victim of theft, according to an arrest report from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. He had hired 58-year-old Allen James Deson to do some landscaping work at his residence on Aug. 16, but he never came back to work or refunded the money.
The resident explained he agreed to pay $750 up front for the cost of materials. When the job was done, he would pay Deson an additional $750 for a total price of $1,500. He wrote a cashier’s check for $750 on Aug. 17, which Deson cashed later the same day, the report said.
Over the next few weeks, Deson did not return to complete the work. He claimed he needed to take care of his father who had recently fallen ill, but he would try to do the work soon, the report said.
On Aug. 29, the resident emailed Deson and asked for a refund because he had not come back or done any work. He replied by saying he would refund the money “in a timely manner.” When asked what a timely manner was, he did not answer, the report said.
Deson had not replied to the Spruce Creeker since Sept. 2. He also did not refund the money or start working. The resident emailed him again on Sept. 12, saying he would seek criminal charges if he did not refund the money. He still did not reply, the report said.
So, on Oct. 8, a detective spoke to Deson about the incident over the phone. He advised that the day after the resident paid the $750, he asked Deson for a “credit” for some of the plants. The resident wanted to lower their agreed upon price of $1,500 due to a neighbor coming over and doing some of the work Deson was paid to do, the report said.
Deson stated he would not lower the price because that was not how he worked. Due to this disagreement, he decided to keep the $750 as a deposit and no longer work with the resident, the report said.
The detective asked Deson if he had a contract for this incident, to which he stated he would not be willing to work with law enforcement but would retain everything he needed for his “attorney.” He said several times during the conversation that the situation was “he said, she said,” “only a civil matter” and “hearsay” before the detective could ask him any questions about the agreement between him and the resident, the report said.
The detective told him the incident could be civil or criminal in nature, depending on the facts of the case. However, he kept speaking over the detective. He stated he “did nothing wrong,” and the matter could not be criminal. He also refused to provide his attorney’s name or contact information, the report said.
Deson mentioned buying materials for the job, as well, but did not elaborate. At no point did he ever mention delaying the job because his father was ill or that he intended to pay the resident back. In fact, according to him, he only ended the agreement because the resident asked for a discount, the report said.
He was ultimately arrested Wednesday on a warrant charging him with fraud (cheating or gross fraud) and larceny ($300 to $10k from person 65 years of age or older). He was transported to Marion County Jail with bond set at $5,000.