PHOTO COURTESY PUBLIC DOMAIN PICTURES
By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer
(May 16, 2019) A 47-year-old man will spend four months in prison for defrauding Ocean Pines residents, the Tuesday, the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office reported following his sentencing in circuit court Tuesday.
Pasco “Patrick” Allen, of Berlin, was initially sentenced to 18 months in prison by Judge W. Newton Jackson, however, all but four months were suspended.
PHOTO COURTESY WORCESTER COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Pasco “Patrick” Allen, 47, of Berlin
Allen was charged with a host of offenses, and was convicted of obtaining property by deception of a vulnerable adult up to $1,500 and three counts of failure to perform a contract. He pleaded guilty to the charges in February.
Ocean Pines homeowners reported complaints referencing Allen to the Ocean Pines Police Department from October 2017 to June 2018, the state’s attorney’s office said.
Homeowners said they hired Allen for landscaping jobs and general home improvement work, and that ee accepted their money but did not complete the jobs.
Allen also was not licensed with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, according to investigation findings.
He faced several other charges including acting as a contractor without a license and theft of $100 to under $1,500, according to the District Court of Maryland’s CaseSearch website. Of the 29 charges, 25 counts were not prosecuted.
State’s Attorney Kristin Heiser urged people to take advantage of online services to protect themselves against criminals.
“Empowering our citizens to educate themselves on an individual’s criminal history and licensing status is an important part of the mission of the State’s Attorney’s Office,” Heiser said. “We are working every day to raise awareness about these types of financial crimes and predators so that we can prevent citizens from becoming future victims.”
Anyone interested in searching criminal records can visit the Maryland Judiciary Case Search’s website at mdcourts.gov.
To check if a person is licensed to do home improvement work, visit the Maryland Home Improvement Commission’s website at dllr.state.md.us/license/mhic.