Coral Bay Victims Claim $4.6M In Restitution
BROOKSVILLE –
Almost a year after he was sentenced to 20 years in prison, Steven Bartlett’s victims are staking a claim on their losses.
Collectively, there are 96 cases asking for $4.6 million in restitution.
Bartlett, former president of Coral Bay Construction Inc., was sentenced last April following his conviction for grand theft over $100,000. Prosecutors used more than 30,000 pages of evidence to prove Bartlett funded a lavish lifestyle with money intended to build homes.
Without that business capital, dozens of homes were left in various stages of completion when Coral Bay Construction folded. Some never saw their lots cleared.
The first resource available to victims was a state recovery fund housed in the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. But the Florida Homeowner’s Construction Recovery Fund caps claims at $500,000. And by January 2008, just 15 claims had tapped out the funds available to Coral Bay Construction victims.
This new restitution claim, filed last week, provides a new avenue for claiming damages.
But the odds of seeing a dime, “frankly are pretty slim,” said Assistant State Attorney Phil Hanson.
At this point, the case is still on appeal. The legal argument of criminal intent was never proven by the state. If the conviction is affirmed, then a restitution hearing might be in order, Hanson said.
Typically, a restitution hearing is delayed until a suspect leaves jail. That provides a way for the person to get a source of income and a judge can decide how the victims will be compensated. But with 19 years to go on Bartlett’s sentence, that’s not a likely route.
Even with an early hearing, “it’s an unwieldy situation with this many victims,” said Hanson.
His best advice for the victims at this juncture is to be happy with the prison sentence.
Among the victims making claims are Ronald and Julia Yeagle, who were left with only the unfinished shell of the home they paid for. They were compensated not with money but with blueprints and permits so they could finish the job with another contractor.
Their restitution claim is similar to the others. They paid $20,690 on their contract with Coral Bay Construction and another $24,816 out of pocket to avoid a lien from a contractor that wasn’t paid by Coral Bay Construction.
There is also a theoretical loss, what’s called loss of benefit of contract. For example, if a couple was willing to pay $100,000 for a home, but had to pay $150,000 to another homebuilder, the loss is counted as $50,000.
Julia Yeagle said their intention was to have a retirement home built here and move from Miami within a year. Construction didn’t begin for a year after signing the contract.
Between financing a new mortgage and scraping together the funds to finish the house, the Yeagles saw their savings evaporate. Their home in Miami has been sitting on the market for three years.
“This situation left us in a humongous mess,” Yeagle said.
They’re resigned to the fact their money will probably never be recovered.
“God has a master plan,” Yeagle said. “You just move forward.”
Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or [email protected]
