Texas contractor gets rare 30-year sentence for stealing more than $300,000 from clients — is this the start of a bigger crackdown?
A former North Texas contractor pleaded guilty to stealing more than $300,000. Police say he used excuses, aliases and the silent treatment.
Getting arrested didn’t slow Jeremy Jerod Zeno down, according to prosecutors.
The former North Texas contractor kept running his scheme while out on bond in Tarrant County — and while already on deferred adjudication in a similar case in Hood County, prosecutors said, according to FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth. On Oct. 9, Zeno pleaded guilty to theft of more than $300,000 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
None of the money has been recovered, Tarrant County prosecutors confirmed to FOX 4.
Contractor fraud is a growing problem nationwide. Reported instances rose 38% from 2023 to 2025, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
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‘The materials never came’
Police said Zeno used excuses, aliases and ghosting while posing as a trusted North Texas contractor. He collected checks from customers and cashed them, they said.
The investigation started in 2024, when Terry Stevenson filed a complaint with police in Benbrook, a Fort Worth suburb. Stevenson said he paid Zeno $40,000 for a renovation that had barely begun when Zeno stopped communicating.
“He kept saying the materials are coming. The materials are coming. The materials never came,” said Stevenson, who flew in from Iowa to testify.
Other clients came forward, too. Lee Robinson of Arlington said he lost $35,000 on an unfinished build in Alvarado, south of Fort Worth. In 2025, he warned others on Facebook about what he called “the worst contractor in DFW,” and other victims replied with similar stories, FOX 4 reported.
Selvin Rosa of Dallas-based Universal Foundation Experts said his company poured a foundation for a home in Hood County, southwest of Fort Worth, and was never paid. A fourth victim from the Royse City/Rockwall area east of Dallas paid Zeno $180,000 and lost it.
“You can’t do this to your clients. You are destroying homes, their investments, and their life,” Rosa said. “He deserves the 30 years because it is not his first rodeo.”
Stevenson wore a shirt to court that read, “Zeno Construction Officially Closed.”
“Patience is the key to this. We will win in the end,” he said.
On bond and under supervision, prosecutors say
Deferred adjudication is a form of community supervision a Texas judge can order after a guilty or no-contest plea. If the defendant completes it, the case is dismissed without a conviction. If the defendant violates its terms, the judge can find the defendant guilty and impose a sentence on the original charge.
Prosecutors say Zeno kept operating while under that supervision in Hood County and while out on bond in the Tarrant County case.
In Texas, theft of $300,000 or more is a first-degree felony, punishable by five to 99 years or life in prison. State law also lets prosecutors combine thefts from several victims into a single charge when they’re part of one scheme.
A bigger crackdown?
Thirty years sits at the high end for contractor theft. Earlier this year, a Nevada contractor got four to 10 years for taking more than $308,000 from homeowners, roughly what Zeno pleaded to. In Ohio, a pole barn builder who took more than $400,000 got 17 to 22 years after a jury convicted him on 47 felony counts. A Colorado contractor who stole more than $1.4 million got 10 years. The closest match is a former Pensacola, Florida, contractor who got 30 years on Aug. 31 and was ordered to repay more than $2 million.
So is a bigger crackdown underway? There’s no sign of a coordinated one. But state attorneys general in Colorado, Ohio and New York have all announced prison sentences for contractor fraud this year, and sentences still vary widely from state to state.
Read More: Here’s the average income of Americans by age in 2026. Are you keeping up or falling behind?
Before you hire a contractor
To avoid the most common contractor red flags, the Federal Trade Commission recommends these steps:
Check the contractor’s license and insurance. Licensing rules vary, so confirm with your state or county government.
Get multiple written estimates that spell out the work, materials, completion date and price.
Don’t pay the full amount up front. Some states cap down payments, and the final payment should wait until the work is done.
Be wary of anyone who only takes cash.
Make sure every blank in the contract is filled in, and don’t let anyone pressure you into signing.
Homeowners can also get stuck with a contractor’s unpaid bills. In Texas, for example, if a contractor doesn’t pay subcontractors or suppliers, the property may be subject to a lien for the unpaid amount, according to the state attorney general’s office.
If a contractor takes your money
Start with the contractor, in writing. The FTC suggests following up phone calls with a certified letter, return receipt requested, and keeping copies of everything. If that goes nowhere, file a complaint with your state attorney general or local consumer protection office, and report it at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Paid by credit card? You generally have 60 days from the first statement with the charge to dispute services that weren’t delivered as agreed.
And if you think it’s a crime, go to the police. That’s how Zeno’s case started: one client’s complaint in 2024.
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This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Source: Crime
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