Today Marian Kola was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation for Grand Theft $20,000 or more, a Second Degree Felony and Criminal Use of Personal Identification Information the fraud being $100,000 or more, a First Degree Felony. He was convicted at trial in July. He was also ordered to pay $63,709 in restitution to the victim.
This case resulted from a State Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit investigation, with assistance from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant State Attorney James D. Miller, Chief of the State Attorney’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, prosecuted the case.
In 2022, the defendant was hired by a baker on the East coast of Florida to expand his bakery and retrofit his warehouse for HVAC use. The customer paid the defendant $100,000. The contract presented included a license number which belonged to a contractor out of Collier County who never met or knew the defendant. It became apparent quickly that the defendant was not able to complete such a large job and the job was cancelled.
The defendant only returned some of the $100,000 to the customer and gave them two small air conditioner units. When questioned as to what happened to the rest of the money, the defendant presented false banking documents and documents alleging others had been paid for work. The real banking documents showed the money had been spent by the defendant on personal items in Collier County.
The victim reached out to the State Attorney’s Office. Our office investigated with assistance from the DBPR and the Collier County Sheriff’s Office due to the multi-jurisdictional nature of the offense. When questioned by law enforcement, the defendant was found to be driving a vehicle, wrapped with signage, showing the number belonging to the contractor who did not know him.
Also part of today’s sentence, the defendant may not own a company involved in construction and may not collect payment if he were to work in the construction industry at all.
Samantha Syoen – State Attorney’s Office Communications Director