Former contractor pleads guilty to bilking clients out of thousands

CONCORD — A former home contractor will serve at least two years in prison after pleading guilty to taking almost $74,000 and then not performing work for five clients, some in Belknap County.

Kevin Clague, 40, formerly of New Durham and now of Churubusco, Indiana, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft by unauthorized taking, and three counts of theft by deception.

On the three theft by deception charges and one theft by unauthorized taking charge, Clague was sentenced to concurrent two- to 10-year prison sentences. On the theft by unauthorized taking charges related to three of the victims, he was sentenced to suspended five- to 10-year sentences to be served concurrently with the 2-10 year sentences.

Clague’s sentencing took place on March 23 in Belknap Superior Court before Judge Amy Ignatius.

According to the state Attorney General’s Office which prosecuted the cases, in one case Clague took a $12,000 deposit to build a deck for a client in Alton Bay, but performed no work. In another Belknap County case, Clague took a $15,600 deposit, again without performing any work. He did the same thing to a Milton client who paid $18,737 in deposits. Lastly, in a case which related to actions in multiple counties, Clague took three deposits totaling $27,625 ostensibly to made deposits to subcontractors, pay for a building permit, and purchase supplies, but never applied or paid for the building permit, never made deposits for subcontractors, and never purchased any supplies.

The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the cases after the victims made complaints to the AG’s Consumer Protection and Antitrust Bureau, according to Assistant Attorney General Kevin Scura.