GOSHEN – A Newburgh woman pled guilty in Orange County Court to ripping off three sets of victims in connection with renovations to houses that they had purchased through her in the City of Newburgh.
Under the plea agreement, Shayla Sellars, 38, will be ordered to pay restitution to the victims in an amount to be determined by the district attorney’s office when sentenced in May. The collective amount of restitution that has been alleged in the case exceeds $300,000.
Sellars was indicted by a county grand jury on three counts of grand larceny and one count of scheme to defraud, encompassing all of the victims.
The state’s lien law provides that when a contractor receives money on a contract to improve real property, such as a house, the contractor holds that money “in trust” for the benefit of those who provide labor on the job, any subcontractors, those who supply the building materials, and, in the case of improvement to private residences, the homeowners. If the contractor does not work on the project, does not properly pay the money they received to those who worked on the project or supplied materials, and does not return the money to the homeowner, they are deemed under the law to have stolen the money. The Lien Law also provides that a contractor who receives money to improve a homeowner’s residence may not use that money on other jobs.
The case was investigated by the State Department of Financial Services, Newburgh City Police and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.
