A former Jefferson County man has been charged with 22 felonies following numerous complaints that his St. Charles County fence and deck company took payments for projects it never completed, court documents show.
The Missouri Attorney General’s Office charged Craig J. Sutton, 61, of St. Louis with one count of stealing $25,000 or more and two counts of financial exploitation of an elder or disabled person, each of the three charges a class C felony; nine counts of stealing $750 or more, each one a class D felony; and eight counts of unlawful merchandise practice misrepresentation and unfair practice in connection with a sale and two counts of deceptive business practices, each of those 10 charges a class E felony, according to court records.
Each of the class C felonies carries a penalty of three to 10 years in prison, each of the class D felonies is punishable by up to seven years in prison and the class E felonies each is punishable by up to four years in prison.
Sutton owns Tri-County Fence and Deck, 1902 E. Service Road, in Wentzville. He also operated the business from an apartment in the 9700 block of Newham Drive in St. Louis, the probable-cause statement in the case said.
Court records show he previously lived in Barnhart and Imperial.
According to the probable-cause statement, at least 10 customers paid Tri-County a total of $72,925 between February 2022 and July 2022 for fence or deck projects that were never completed. The customers all lived in St. Charles County.
Two of the customers who paid for work that was not completed were older than 60, the report said.
Sutton was charged on April 27 in St. Charles County and was arrested May 17 in Jefferson County. He pleaded not guilty to the charges on May 19, according to court records.