Show-Me State Times

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Wednesday sentenced a contractor from Jefferson County, Missouri, to five years of probation, 90 days of house arrest, and 80 hours of community service for his role in the financial exploitation of an elderly St. Louis woman.

Austin James, of Hillsboro, was also ordered to repay $94,606 to the victim’s estate.

James assisted Gino Rives in crimes against the 80-year-old victim, who hired Rives before January 17, 2021, to repair her roof for $7,500. Subsequently, she hired Rives again under the false belief that he was a licensed contractor to renovate her home's interior. Rives instructed the woman to write checks to himself and others, including James, totaling over $550,000 for renovations on her one-bedroom, one-bathroom home measuring 1,100 square feet.

After bank employees raised concerns about the large number of checks being written from the victim's account, an investigation by the St. Louis City Building Inspector’s Office concluded that any work done on the house was worth at most $50,000.

James received eight checks totaling $94,606 between January 2021 and July 2021 for allegedly performing work on various parts of the victim’s home. However, photos presented during sentencing showed that he did not perform this work.

James pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft at age 27.

Rives was sentenced in June to 87 months in prison and ordered to repay more than $1 million to elder fraud victims.

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting it.

Anyone with concerns about suspected abuse or neglect of elderly or disabled individuals should contact Missouri’s Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210.