A South Jersey home improvement contractor has reached a $442,000 settlement with the state to resolve a lawsuit filed by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office which accused him and his company of defrauding senior citizens and others who hired him to perform remodeling projects, authorities said.
Barreras was accused of violating the Consumer Fraud Act by accepting payments from his customers and then failing to complete the work he was hired to do. He then closed the business after receiving consumer payments for home improvement work he never performed, the office said. In addition, the contractor imposed undisclosed charges and fees not included in his contract prices, did not finish work or begin work on time and forced customers to make a final payment before all the improvements were completed, officials said.