When a Drexel Hill couple wanted to add an in-law suite to their home, they did some online research and emailed a contractor.
However, the website for J.D. Kelly Corporation had essentially been hijacked, and the man the couple actually contacted – Vincent E. Cottrell III, 39, of Drexel Hill – now faces felony theft charges for scamming the pair out of $52,706.32, Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said in a press release.
Cottrell was also charged with identity theft and theft by deception, court records said. He allegedly took control of the website of another contractor, J.D. Kelly Corporation, and installed his own contact information on the company’s web page, the criminal complaint said.
The couple said Cottrell came to their home in 2014, presented them with a business card and email addresses referencing J.D. Kelly and agreed to take on the project. The homeowners signed a contract with him for the estimated $87,150 project and made initial payments, the complaint said.
Cottrell told the couple that work would start during the beginning of April 2015, but it didn’t. By the end of the month, Cottrell had offered several excuses, such as blaming the delay on the township and a sub-contractor. The homeowners terminated the contract after concluding that Cottrell had supplied them with false information, according to the complaint.
In July, investigators interviewed John D. Kelly, who owns the Bucks County-based J.D. Kelly Corporation; they learned that Kelly had hired Cottrell to create a company website but that Cottrell had provided numerous excuses for not giving Kelly the password. The new website contained contact information for Cottrell so that all customers calls got forwarded to Cottrell, the complaint said.
Cottrell was arraigned and released on $75,000 unsecured bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Feb. 2, court records said. Anyone with information about the case or Cottrell is asked to call investigators at 610-891-4700.
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