Avon businessman gets at least 4 years in prison for $3 million homebuilding scam

An Avon man who scammed customers of his business out of almost $3 million will spend up to the next four years in prison. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Carl Mazzone on Monday sentenced Jeffrey Crawford, 52, of St. Maron Boulevard, to an indefinite sentence of four to five years in prison. Crawford pleaded guilty last month to felony charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft, securing records by deception, tampering with records, money laundering and passing bad checks. Mazzone ordered restitution of more than $2.35 million to six victims. He agreed to consider letting Crawford out of prison after 2½ years. "I am so sorry, I'm sick about it, and at this point I want to make things right," Crawford said in court, promising to pay them back. Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said Crawford and Cleveland Custom Homes, formerly on Detroit Road in Avon, scammed six victims out of nearly $3 million starting in 2021. The U.S. Secret Service and the Amherst and Westlake police departments investigated. Crawford agreed to build three homes in Lorain and Cuyahoga counties, for $1.3 million, $650,000 and $600,000 each, then forged loan documents to banks, claiming work was done and contractors paid when neither of those things were true. He used victims' money for other projects or personal expenses, prosecutors said. Crawford also got victims in Lorain, Cuyahoga and Trumbull counties to invest $430,000 in his business. He promised to pay them back at a profit but never did. Crawford filed for bankruptcy in 2024, putting several lawsuits against him in Lorain and Cuyahoga counties on hold. In one of those, Attorney General Dave Yost sued Cleveland Custom Homes in Lorain County Common Pleas Court over allegations the company didn't do work it promised to do or did subpar work that cost consumers $1 million to fix. The case is assigned to Judge Donna Freeman's court. A hearing is scheduled April 28. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.