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The former contractor pleaded guilty to stealing thousands of dollars from a client who had hired him to build a single-family home in Ocean Township, according to Acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago.
Mihkel Grunbaum, 49, was sentenced on Friday, Nov. 4. Grunbaum also was ordered to immediately pay $65,000 in restitution to the victim.
Grunbaum pleaded guilty on Feb. 25, to theft of movable property following an investigation by detectives from the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation revealed that Grunbaum, owner of his former business, Shore GC Group, L.L.C., entered into a contract with the victim in January 2018.
The contract specified that he was to build a single-family home on a piece of property the victim owned in Ocean Township.
The contract required that progress payments made to Grunbaum were only to be used in connection with the victim’s project.
Grunbaum, however, used $65,000 for personal expenses and payments for other projects, while abandoning the victim’s construction site, Santiago said.
After the victim terminated the contract and hired another builder, Grunbaum refused to refund the victim’s money, the prosecutor said.
The victim eventually reported the theft to the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, and an investigation began.
A review of the defendant’s bank records and interviews with subcontractors and suppliers revealed that the victim’s money was never used for its intended purpose, namely the construction of the victim’s home, but was instead diverted by the defendant for his own gain, Santiago said.
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