Updated July 1 at 9:47 a.m.
A Wiscasset man is facing charges locally and in Hancock County for allegedly defrauding an elderly couple through an asphalt paving scam in Edgecomb and breaking several consumer protection laws in both Hancock and Lincoln counties, according to Lincoln County Sheriff’s Detective Scott Hayden.
Samuel Stanley, 24, was going door-to-door offering to pave people’s driveways under the business name SJS Asphalt Paving, Hayden said.
Stanley is charged with theft by deception, a class C felony, for the paving job he performed on the Edgecomb couple’s driveway, according to Hayden.
“He paved the driveway; it was inadequate and totally overcharged,” Hayden said.
The couple paid Stanley $12,000, about twice what they should have paid for an adequate paving job for their driveway, according to Hayden.
There are several state laws under Title 32 that protect consumers in these sorts of situations, according to Hayden.
Stanley is alleged to have violated statutes requiring a contract for a sale resulting from a seller’s direct contact with a consumer outside the seller’s place of business, performing work inside a three-day window in which a consumer can cancel such a contract, and selling home repair services door-to-door outside the municipality in which a business is located without a license from the state to do so, Hayden said.
Stanley is charged with class E crimes for each of those alleged violations, though the state will attempt to prove he intentionally violated those statutes, making them class D crimes, Hayden said.
According to Hayden, ” … just not having a contract, not having a license, not waiting the three days, those are blatant violations of this law.”
Stanley was arrested in Ellsworth June 26 for additional alleged Title 32 violations related to door-to-door sales for driveway paving, Hayden said.
Elizabeth Stanley, co-owner of SJS Paving and Samuel Stanley’s wife, told The Lincoln County News the company was not aware of a need for a license to sell home repair services door-to-door outside of Wiscasset, and has since applied for a license.
A license for door-to-door sales of home repairs services for SJS Paving was pending review by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation as of June 30, according to the department’s website.
Elizabeth Stanley said SJS Paving is a small, family owned business and all the company’s work is quality. If a customer had a complaint, they could have brought their concerns to the company, she said.
