Unlicensed southern Arizona contractor sentenced for stealing $75,000 through unfinished projects

PHOENIX — An unlicensed contractor from Tucson was sentenced earlier this month after admitting to stealing $75,000 through unfinished projects, authorities announced Monday.

Matthew Edmiston, 29, was sentenced on Oct. 1 to 30 days in jail, followed by 75 consecutive weekends, after pleading guilty to a felony count of theft and a misdemeanor count of contracting without a license, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

He was also given five years of probation.

“My office is serious about holding fraudulent contractors accountable,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a press release Monday. “Reputable contracting businesses and innocent families are both harmed by fraudulent contractors, and we won’t allow it in Arizona.”

How did unlicensed contractor steal $75,000?

According to prosecutors, between Jan. 1, 2023, and Aug. 31, 2024, Edmiston, who was not licensed, acted as a registered contractor and agreed to contracts with nine victims to perform work on their homes.

The work he agreed to perform included roof repairs, countertop replacement and shower floor remodels.

He started the projects, took all of the victims’ money, totaling $75,000, and then never returned to the homes to finish the work, prosecutors added.

He was indicted in May on nine counts of fraudulent schemes and artifices, nine counts of contracting without a license and one count of theft.

However, most of the charges were dropped as part of a plea deal reached in August.

Edmiston has been ordered to pay $18,000 in restitution to four of the victims, but the court will allow victims to submit requests for restitution for 90 days after the sentencing.

Anyone who believes they have been defrauded by an unlicensed contractor can submit a complaint on the Arizona Registrar of Contractors’ website.

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