Contractor charged with two felonies following fraud complaint in Lewis County

CROGHAN- A Central New York area contractor is accused of a pair of felony charges after allegedly ripping off a client last summer in Lewis County.

On Tuesday, Sheriff’s Investigators announced the arrest of Paul F. Conklin (no age provided), of Marcellus, NY with one felony count each of grand larceny in the third-degree and scheming to defraud in the first-degree.

In July of 2025, police discovered that Conklin was hired to replace a roof on a residence in the town of Croghan.

It is reported that Conklin was paid thousands of dollars to commence with the project, however; investigators found out that he took the payment and never finished any of the work.

Additionally, Conklin allegedly ceased all contact with the customer after receiving payment.

A fraud complaint was filed in late December and a warrant was issued for Conklin’s arrest.

On Monday, he was picked up by the Geddes Police Department.

Following an arraignment, Conklin was released and is due to answer the accusations in Croghan Town Court at a later date.

The Lewis County District Attorney’s Office and Onondaga County Court both assisted.

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