Geneva man took $10K for a remodeling job he never started now charged with theft by deception: prosecutors

GENEVA – A Geneva man has been charged with theft by deception for allegedly taking more than $10,000 in payment to do a remodeling job, but then never doing the work, police and court records show.

Shawn G. Strahota, 39, of the 2100 block of Pepper Valley Drive, Geneva, already was in jail on $120,000 bond after being charged with domestic battery, kidnapping and carjacking in a separate case, police and court records show.

The theft charge was filed against Strahota on Aug. 19 against, according to police and court records.

A homeowner in the 700 block of Edison Street hired Strahota on March 3 and wrote a check for $10,509 to cover materials and half the labor. But by March 21, Strahota had not begun the project, according to the police report.

“Over the next couple of weeks, Strahota provided excuses for not being able to perform the renovations, such as losing his tools, his vehicle breaking down and him being unable to procure a dumpster,” the report stated.

The homeowner told him on April 18 that she wanted to cancel the project and to refund her money; he did not respond, nor did he begin the project, the report stated.

On July 12, Geneva police contacted Strahota, who claimed he had not cashed the check but would check with his business partners about it, the report stated.

Police confirmed with the bank that he did deposit the check in his personal checking account, the report stated.

Though Strahota had agreed to call the officer back by Aug. 18, there was no more return correspondence with him, leading to his arrest, the report stated.

In April, Strahota was charged with felony domestic battery due to a prior conviction of violating an order of protection, according to police and court records.

Strahota was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond and ordered not to have contact with the victim or go near her apartment building, according to court records.

But then Strahota was indicted on crimes he allegedly committed on July 19 against the same victim, records show.

These included kidnapping, alleging that he confined the victim from the earlier domestic battery against her will, that he took her car by the threat of force, took her from one place to another against her will, strangled the victim by covering her mouth and nose so that she could not breathe and that he battered the victim in a public way causing her bodily harm, records show.

Strahota was stopped in Utica for driving through a stop sign shortly before 2 p.m. on July 19, while driving the victim’s Jeep, according to a Utica police report.

Strahota – whose license was revoked – pushed the passenger into the driver’s seat of the Jeep, the report stated.

“They were both yelling and screaming at each other,” the report stated. “I saw that (she) was bleeding from the mouth and nose, her hair was messed up and wet with blood or something. She was very upset, was crying and her body was shaking. … She went on to yell that she had been kidnapped and her name should be in the computer.”

Utica police took Strahota into custody, eventually St. Charles police picked him up and took him to the Kane County jail, the report stated.

Strahota’s bond was set at $100,000 in that case and an additional $20,000 was added for the theft by deception charge, records show.

He would have to post $12,000 as bail or 10% of the combined bonds to be posted in order to be released.

On July 29, Kane County Associate Judge David Kliment approved the prosecutors’ request not to allow Strahota access to computers, telephones or other communications devices, other than a tablet to communicate with his attorney.

Prosecutors had alleged that Strahota violated the terms of his bond conditions from the April incident when he contacted the victim from jail by attempting to call her more than 25 times. They also alleged that on July 20, he instructed his mother to call the victim and have her tell police that she was not kidnapped, according to a court filing.

Strahota also told his mother to call hospitals near Utica to find out where the victim was taken for treatment, then for her to tell the hospital she was family, according to the filing.

Strahota later confirmed with his mother that she had attempted to leave messages for the victim, according to the filing.

Strahota called the victim on July 21, then called his mother and instructed her to text the victim that they would have a three-way phone call; his mother attempted twice, but could not connect, according to the filing.

“The defendant then instructed his mother to text (the victim) again to explain that the defendant is attempting to contact her via email ... ,” the filing stated.

“The defendant instructs his mother to call (the victim) and tell her to say that she wasn’t kidnapped … this kidnapping charge has to get thrown out, that she can’t go to court so that he can plead not guilty,” the filing stated.

On July 23, Strahota’s mother successfully arranged a three-way call with the victim, the filing stated.

The kidnapping charge is the most serious one that Strahota faces, a Class X felony punishable by six to 30 years in prison and fines up to $25,000, if convicted.

While Geneva police records show Strahota as living there, court records show he filed a change of address notification on July 20 that he now has a residence on the 400 block of West Kendall Drive in Yorkville.

Strahota’s next court date is Sept. 23, according to court records.

A voice mail message seeking comment from his public defender was not returned.