DAYTON — A Miami Valley fencing contractor who left customers high and dry after taking deposits has been sentenced.
Darryl “Rob” Fraley is already making court-ordered payments to victims in his civil case where the Ohio Attorney’s General Office sued him. On Friday, he appeared in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court for the sentencing of his criminal case.
>> PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Troubled fencing contractor accused of scamming locals pleads guilty
As News Center 7 previously reported, Fraley pleaded guilty to charges in connection to the operation of his business, Dixie Fence South last month.
People like Rio Blomquist, of Miamisburg, and Jim Davis, of Miami Twp., paid Fraley thousands of dollars for fence jobs that were never completed.
“Seeing him there was a little bit of anger, but not as much as I thought. I was just glad to see him actually in a courtroom and getting sentenced,” Davis said. “That’s what I wanted to see.”
As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, Fraley said he plans on paying everyone back in court on Friday.
“I want to make everything right. I feel bad for what I did,” Fraley said.
The court’s sentence includes strict probation to make sure Fraley keeps his word. If he misses, 1, 2, or 3 payments — he’ll go to jail each time for sentences of less than three weeks. But if he misses more than three payments, he’ll go to prison for up to 31 years.
>> RELATED: I-TEAM: Fencing contractor accused of scamming locals accused of similar actions in Tennessee
“You’re going to pay or you’re going to go to jail. You’re going to pay or you’re going to go to prison and have 31 years hanging over your head,” Judge Mary Wiseman said in court. “Your life is in your hands. Good luck to you, sir.”
At one point during the hearing, the judge thanked Kim Watterman from Kettering. She contacted the News Center 7 I-Team in October 2022, prompting our original report on Fraley and his theft.
“And if it hadn’t been for Channel 7 and Mr. [John] Bedell airing his story about that one victim, then I think a lot of these — this might not have ever materialized,” Wiseman said.
Since that original report, the I-Team has talked to victims all over the Miami Valley, including Davis and Blomquist.
“I just want my money back and to never see him again. Ever,” Blomquist said.
>> PREVIOUS REPORT: Area fencing company accused of taking deposit, never starting work
The judge also ordered access to Fraley’s financial records and for him to come back to court this September so she can check in on how he’s doing with his payment plan.
The I-Team checked with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office about Fraley’s progress with his civil case payments. They confirmed he’s paid back $1,000 of the more than $133,000 he owes in that case.
Fraley’s lawyer said the total he owes between the civil and criminal cases is “somewhere in the neighborhood of $150,000.”