A person commits the offense of home repair fraud when the person intentionally and knowingly does any of the following:
(1) Enters into an agreement or contract for consideration, written or oral, with a person for home repair, and the offending person knowingly engages in any one or more of the following deceptive activities:
a. Misrepresentation of a material fact relating to the terms of the contract or agreement or the preexisting or existing condition of any portion of the property involved, or the creation or confirmation of another's impression which is false and which the offending person does not believe to be true, or promises performance which the offending person does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed.
b. Use or employment of any deception, false pretense, or false promises in order to induce, encourage, or solicit a person to enter into any contract or agreement.
c. Misrepresentation or concealment of either the offending person's real name or the name of his or her business or business address.
d. Use of deception, coercion, or force to obtain a person's consent to modification of the terms of the original contract or agreement.
(2) Damages the property of a person with the intent to enter into an agreement or contract for home repair.
(3) Misrepresents himself or herself or another person as being an employee or agent of any unit of federal, state, or municipal government or any other governmental unit, or an employee or agent of any public utility, with the intent to cause a person to enter into a contract or agreement for home repair.
Last modified: May 3, 2021