A Philadelphia man with more than two dozen active warrants across five states is accused of defrauding a Schuylkill County man out of a $17,000 deposit for a construction project that never began.
Scott Miller, 35, of Philadelphia, faces felony charges of home improvement fraud, theft by deception, deceptive business practices, and receiving stolen property.
The victim reported the theft at the police barracks in Schuylkill Haven on Oct. 10, 2025. The man told police he paid $17,000 on June 26 to a contractor identifying himself as “Dave Massey” of Elite Contracting LLC to build a 30-by-30-foot steel building at his property in South Manheim Township.
The victim told police he became concerned after realizing no construction had started and no building permits had been filed for his property. After conducting his own research, the victim suspected the contractor was using a fake name, describing the man to police as looking like “Toby Keith when he was heavy set.”
In January, police say a search for the alias and business name revealed social media posts identifying the contractor as Miller. The posts indicated Miller was wanted for home improvement fraud by the Lower Paxton Township Bureau of Police, police say.
A subsequent search of a criminal database revealed Miller had 27 active felony warrants for similar home improvement thefts across Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, New Jersey, and West Virginia, police say.
In May 2026, police were provided with a photograph of the man known as “Massey,” whom they positively identified as Miller using a New Jersey driver’s license, according to the affidavit.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for July 7 in Orwigsburg.
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