Austin James, 27, of Hillsboro was placed on five years’ probation for his role in the financial exploitation of an elderly St. Louis woman. James, a contractor, also was ordered to complete 90 days of house arrest, 80 hours of community service and repay $94,606 to the victim’s estate, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office reported.
U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced James on Aug. 14 after he pleaded guilty to identity theft.
James aided Gino Rives in crimes against the 80-year-old victim who hired Rives sometime before Jan. 17, 2021, to repair her roof for $7,500. She next hired Rives, who falsely claimed to be a licensed contractor, to renovate the interior of her home. Rives told the woman to write checks to him and others, including James, that totaled more than $550,000 for renovations on the one-bedroom, one-bath, 1,100 square-foot home, court records show.
After being contacted by bank employees concerned about the volume of checks written form the victim’s account, the St. Louis City Building Inspector’s Office determined that the work done on the house was worth a maximum of $50,000, the U.S. District Attorney’s Office reported.
James received eight checks totaling $94,606 between January 2021 and July 2021 for purportedly completing work on the victim’s kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, basement and foundation. Photos presented during the sentencing hearing proved he did not perform the work for which he had been paid, court records show.
Rives, 36, of Edmundson in St. Louis County was sentenced in June to 87 months in prison and ordered to repay more than $1 million to elder fraud victims.
The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.
Anyone with concerns about suspected abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled should contact Missouri’s Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210.