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A Harbeson construction contractor is wanted by Rehoboth Beach and Dewey Beach police for allegedly bilking subcontractors out of approximately $181,500, Rehoboth police say.
The departments are seeking Eric McGinnis, who operated a construction services company out of Harbeson. Det. Kevin Jones of the Rehoboth Beach Police Department said McGinnis is wanted in both Rehoboth and Dewey on charges of home construction fraud and improper retention of contractor funds.
Jones said McGinnis is not new to the area and had been in the construction business for a while. He said McGinnis obtained payments to do construction work, hired subcontractors and then did not pay them for work they had done, leaving homeowners holding the bag.
Jones said he did not know of McGinnis’s whereabouts. Reports have put him in places as far away as Las Vegas and Nicaragua, but Jones said he could not confirm this. McGinnis has been missing since the first week of September, Jones said.
Jones said the state police also know of McGinnis but have not yet issued any warrants for his arrest. Jones said he has talked with associates and former clients as well as the Transportation Security Administration in hopes of locating McGinnis.
Steve Beauregard, a resident of Santa Monica, Calif. who has family in the Cape Region, has tried to assist the effort by posting a blog to provide an outlet for those who have had dealings with McGinnis. Beauregard said he started the blog after McGinnis was supposed to build a house on Broadkill Beach for his parents but failed to pay the subcontractors.
Beauregard said his parents gave McGinnis $300,000 for subcontracting work, money which he says McGinnis ran off with, never completing the house and leaving his parents to be sued for the unpaid work. He said it was his understanding that similar situations have happened with at least five or six houses throughout the region. Among those owed by McGinnis is Garrett Dernoga of Delmarva Aviation in Georgetown. Dernoga said McGinnis has owed him $10,000 for several months on a maintenance job for McGinnis’ 1979 Cessna 182.
“It was a pretty significant bill but from all external references – he drives a fancy car, he has the airplane, he has a very successful construction company, you wouldn’t think $10,000 would be a big deal,” Dernoga said. “But he kept putting it off and delaying the payment and every time I would call him he would make an excuse why he couldn’t pay.”
Dernoga said the only recourse he had was to put a lien on the plane, so that when the plane is sold he would get his money back.
“As all that was going on, he just disappeared,” he said. Dernoga said McGinnis bought an RV and took off, cleaning out his house and his offices. The plane has since been repossessed and is currently for sale. Dernoga described McGinnis as around 6-feet-4 inches with dark hair.
Jed James, an electrician contracted by McGinnis, said his firm had done electrical work and submitted a bill for $20,000 on a home but was never paid, despite promises to the contrary.
A search for McGinnis’s former place of business, McGinnis Construction Services Inc., on the Internet shows the company website has been shut down and the phone number has been disconnected. McGinnis’s name appears on a company website for Caribbean Palm Resorts, based off the east coast of Nicaragua.
The charges against McGinnis are a Class C felony and if convicted, carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison plus restitution, Jones said.
For any information on the whereabouts of Eric McGinnis, call Det. Kevin Jones of the Rehoboth Beach Police at 302-227-2577. For more information visit ericmcginnis.blogspot.com.
Contact Ryan Mavity at ryanm@capegazette.com
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