Economic Crimes Unit Secures Nearly $300,000 in Restitution and 20-Year Prison Sentence for Fake Home Contractor

Baltimore, Md. (August 6, 2025) – Today, the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City announced that defendant Bryan O’Neal Jones, whose indictment was announced at the State’s Attorney’s Older Adult Luncheon last year, pleaded guilty to Theft and Financial Exploitation of a Vulnerable Adult and was given an aggregate sentence of 20 years of incarceration and three years of probation. He must also pay $289,299 in restitution to the victims. Chief Shari Greene of the Economic Crimes and Older & Disabled Persons units prosecuted this case.

“The way this defendant deceived vulnerable members of our community to not only steal their money, but then damage their homes, with false promises of renovations, is despicable,” said State’s Attorney Ivan J. Bates. “I applaud Chief Shari Greene for diving into the evidence in this case to uncover Mr. Jones’ scheme and ultimately hold him accountable. I hope that this sentence, and the restitution secured, will be instrumental in helping the victims repair the damage done to their finances and homes.”

The defendant, Bryan O’Neal Jones, owner of BOJ & Sons Construction, LLC., was at one time a licensed contractor; however, he began a pattern of poor work and abandonment of jobs. As a result, his contractor’s license was suspended in October of 2021 by the Maryland Home Improvement Commission (MHIC). Jones continued to sell home improvement services to unsuspecting citizens, many of whom requested free estimates based on Jones’ Facebook promotions of his business. Jones never took down the Facebook page, continued to post new materials promoting his services, and presented contracts to clients that stated “We are licensed, bonded, and insured,” when in fact the company was not licensed and he, as an individual, was not licensed to sell home improvement or to perform home improvement work. Without the licensing, the company was not qualified to be bonded or insured. Furthering the fraud, the contracts listed a fake MHIC number, which is issued to all licensed contractors and sellers of home improvement.

To further disarm his targeted victims, Jones would meet with them in their homes, often showing up wearing a clergy collar to assist in steering the conversation to the fact that he was a pastor. Many of his victims indicated that they felt very safe doing business with him because he was a man of faith. By 2023 and 2024, Jones dropped any pretense of actually doing the work and began selling home improvement, collecting cash, and walking away from the victim, never to return.

Jones is currently serving a sentence of three years on two other cases prosecuted by the Office of the State’s Attorney for Baltimore City for a theft scheme perpetrated against other victims.