Avon contractor accused of stealing $3 million from investors, clients since 2021

A Cuyahoga County grand jury has charged an Avon man in connection with two alleged criminal schemes — one to build homes and the other to invest in his home-building business — through which he allegedly stole nearly $3 million from six victims. Jeffrey Crawford, 51, of St. Maron Boulevard, was indicted Thursday on two counts of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity; four counts of aggravated theft; three counts of telecommunications fraud; three counts of tampering with records; three founds of forgery; three counts of securing writings by deception; one count of theft from a person in a protected class; two counts of money laundering; one count of grand theft; and seven counts of passing bad checks. All 29 charges are felonies, and Crawford will be arraigned at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center at a later date. It couldn't immediately be determined if Crawford had an attorney. The two schemes totaled $2.93 million and included six victims. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley called Crawford "a con artist" in a news release announcing the charges. Crawford, who owns Cleveland Custom Homes on Detroit Road in Avon, started working with three clients in 2021 to build three homes in Lorain and Cuyahoga counties. The homes were valued at approximately $1.3 million, $650,000 and $600,000 each, according to the Prosecutor's Office. "As part of the building process, the home loans required Jeffrey Crawford to sign and submit documentation to the banks confirming that the work from one phase of building to the next phase of building was completed and that the contractors building the homes were paid," the Prosecutor's Office said. "This documentation had to be submitted before the banks released the next portion of the loan to Jeffrey Crawford and Cleveland Custom Homes." Crawford allegedly forged these documents and submitted them to banks claiming the work was completed and the contractors were paid, when neither of those things was true, according to the Prosecutor's Office. Crawford then allegedly used the next portion of loan funds to work on other projects or for personal expenditures, prosecutors said. Then, starting in February 2023, Crawford and Cleveland Custom Homes took investment money from three people in Lorain, Cuyahoga and Trumbull counties "with a promise to repay the investments with a profit," the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office said. Crawford took $300,000, $80,000 and $50,000 from the victims, totaling $430,000 from all three, then allegedly failed to pay them back — even giving some of the investors checks that bounced, according to the Prosecutor's Office. The U.S. Secret Service Money Laundering Task Force, Amherst and Westlake police departments took part in the investigation against Crawford, O'Malley's office said. Crawford previously found himself in civil litigation in March 2024 in Lorain County Common Pleas Court when Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost sued Cleveland Custom Homes. In that case, Cleveland Custom Homes allegedly didn't do work it promised to do or did subpar work for customers, Yost's office said. Cleveland Custom Homes and Crawford left "some homes in worse condition than when he started working on them" and cost customers more than $1 million in losses as as result, Yost alleged. Some customers had to hire other contractors to redo or complete work that was poorly done or left unfinished by the company, according to Yost. Crawford filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in April 2024 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Cleveland. Judge John Miraldi stayed, or paused, the civil case while the bankruptcy went forward. Yost's office filed a motion Sept. 3 to lift the stay, according to court records. At least two other companies have lawsuits against Cleveland Custom Homes and Crawford pending in Lorain County Common Pleas Court, according to a review of court records. At least one other lawsuit filed against Crawford in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court also is stayed because of his bankruptcy filing, according to court records there. The Better Business Bureau reported on its website that Cleveland Custom Homes was the subject of "a sudden influx of consumer complaints" in September 2023 from consumers who entered home-building contracts with the company, paid large amounts of money and then allegedly never saw the homes finished. The BBB said as general contractor, Cleveland Custom Homes allegedly never paid subcontractors. Contacted by the BBB, Crawford allegedly offered to respond to consumer complaints, opened the consumer protection organization's emails but never responded, according to a statement on its website. Investigators said they believe Crawford has more victims. Anyone with information on Crawford or Cleveland Custom Homes is asked to call the Secret Service Money Laundering Task Force at (216) 750-2058. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.