A special agent from the V.I. Department of Justice arrested Juan Rosario, 56, on felony fraud charges. In a news release issued Monday, Attorney General Denise George said Rosario misrepresented himself as a licensed contractor to perform work repairs on the homes of five St. Croix families.
V.I. Department of Justice Special Agent, Leonardo Carrion Sr. conducted a fraud investigation and executed a warrant for the Rosario’s arrest. The five counts are obtaining money by false pretense, grand larceny and embezzlement by clerks, agents, employees, etc. in relation to receiving payment for repairs to hurricane-damaged homes, that he did not intend to complete.
In her news release, George said Magistrate Miguel Camacho found there was probable cause to sustain all of the charges and move the case forward. Bail was set at $100,000 and Rosario was ordered to abide by several court-imposed bail conditions, which includes no contact with the witnesses and reporting to the probation office weekly. Rosario is also not allowed to leave the territory and must reside with a third-party custodian.
According to an affidavit in support of the arrest warrant filed by Carrion, the investigation revealed that Rosario presented himself as a licensed contractor to five families on St. Croix. The victims were seeking repairs to their damaged homes after hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017. Rosario offered to perform repair work to the homes, but to date has either not completed the job or had not done any work at all. However, Rosario collected payment from the victims who reside in Estate Whim, Estate White Bay, Peter’s Rest, Judith’s Fancy and Tullipan Welcome respectively.
All five victims have indicated they made numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact Rosario after receiving approximately $91,688 to perform work repairs to their homes for an agreed upon price. All of the victims took their complaints to the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs and the case was referred to the Department of Justice, at which time the DOJ Special Investigations Division commenced the investigation that resulted in the arrest and charges.
According to Carrion, an inspection of the Department Licensing and Consumer Affairs’ files revealed that Rosario is not a licensed contractor within the Virgin Islands.
Arraignment for Rosario is scheduled for March 11.