The owner of a Knoxville home repair business is facing felony charges accusing him of defrauding customers, some of them elderly.
Jeremy L. Garrett, 43, owns Garrett’s Glass that’s been in business for the last 2 years.
The Knox County State’s Attorney’s office filed charges against Garrett in July, including 4 counts of aggravated home repair fraud.
If convicted, Garrett could face 3 to 7 years in prison.
Galesburg detectives talked to several people in late June who all had stories of Garrett overcharging them and sometimes not doing the work he was contracted to do.
Detectives invited City building inspectors to look at Garrett’s work at several sites.
Each time the inspector found that Garrett didn’t comply with codes and regulations and hadn’t obtained the necessary permits, even when his contract with customers said that he would.
Then when officers went to search for Garrett’s contractor’s license in the city, they found out he doesn’t have one.
One victim detailed how Garrett performed plumbing work in her home even though he is not a licensed plumber, which is against Illinois law.
One Galesburg woman in her late 60s paid Garrett $5,500 for a new deck. Several local contractors quoted to police that the project should have been no more than $3,000 on the high end.
Police also spoke with a former employee who recalled several instances of Garrett overcharging customers, charging them for high-end products and buying cheaper ones, and not completing jobs as contracted.
Garrett was arrested by Knoxville Police on a $20,000 warrant on July 19 and transported to the Knox County Jail, where he has since posted bond.
Garrett previously has plead guilty to felony home theft in Champaign County in 2017 and was sentenced to 9 years in prison.
His next appearance in Knox County Court is set for Sept. 1 at 9 a.m.
