CLINTON COUNTY — An area homebuilder has been sentenced to two years in prison for stealing over $50,000 from an elderly couple.
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Michael Foster, owner of Five 13 Properties, was originally indicted on three felony counts in March, and pled guilty to one of the counts in October, theft from a person in protected class, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
As part of the plea agreement, the other two charges were dropped.
Foster accepted over $50,000 for a down payment but never started the work on the house.
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A Clinton County Common Pleas Court ordered him to repay his victims the money.
Judge John Rudduck cited Foster’s, “dubious 10-year record of similar crimes and noted that community control didn’t deter him from more criminal activity.” He had previously been monitored for a Hamilton County theft when he committed the Clinton County theft.
“All the defendant has done since being granted community control is produce more victims,” the judge wrote in his sentencing entry.
The Ohio AG’s Office says Foster’s previous criminal history includes:
- A 2013 felony theft charge reduced to a misdemeanor in Warren County.
- A fifth-degree felony theft charge filed in December 2018 in Hamilton County.
- A 2021 guilty plea to fourth-degree felony theft in Hamilton County, for which he was sentenced to three years of community control and ordered to pay $12,750 in restitution.
- Felony charges of grand theft filed in 2023 in both Warren and Clinton counties. In the Warren County case, the defendant pleaded guilty to theft involving an estimated $125,000 and was granted community control.
Yost applauded the sentencing on Wednesday.
“Protecting our older adults from any fraud and deception is a top priority,” he said. “This sentencing sends a clear message that those who exploit vulnerable individuals will be held accountable.”
The Ohio Attorney General’s Office Economic Crimes Unit investigated and prosecuted the case.