Lower Providence electrical contractor gets lengthy state prison sentence for bilking 74 customers out of $400,000

Called a "scourge on the community" by the homeowners he swindled, a Worcester Township man who ran a Lower Providence Township electrical repair company is headed to state prison for 15 to 30 years for conducting a home improvement fraud scheme that bilked customers out of more than $400,000.

Joseph Ford, 55, owner of 1^st Call Electric LLC, which was run out of his rented residence on the 3400 block of Germantown Pike, pleaded guilty in January in Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to 74 counts of deceptive business practices, 35 of which are felonies, according to court records. He also pleaded to writing bad checks.

Authorities said the schemes occurred over a three-year period, beginning during the pandemic in 2020.

Judge Wendy Rothstein also ordered Ford to pay $407,207 in restitution to the 75 victims, many of whom were over 60 years old and on fixed incomes, and had health issues requiring generators for treatment, according to The Reporter.

Investigators allege Ford did not deliver generators electrical panels or do repair work that was paid for in advance via his electrical installation services. Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele said Ford would take large deposits from each homeowner and never did any electrical work or installation.

Thefts ranged from $1,400 to $16,450, authorities said.

Authorities caught on to Ford’s scheme in August 2022 when two Lower Providence Township residents reported home improvement fraud by Ford, police said. As the investigation continued, more victims beyond Lower Providence developed and it became a county investigation.

Victims affected resided in Montgomery, Bucks, Berks, Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties, per the criminal complaint filed by Montgomery County and Lower Providence detectives. There were 39 victims from Montgomery County, 18 from Bucks, and five from Delaware County.

“This is a case about greed and deception. The defendant took hundreds of thousands of dollars from more than 70 victims and then didn’t deliver on the product and services that he promised them,” said Harding, who handled the case with co-prosecutor Tanner C. Beck, according to The Reporter.

Ford's defense attorney John I. McMahon Jr. asked the judge not to overlook Ford's successful business and good reputation before the pandemic. McMahon Jr. inferred his client suffered during the pandemic due to supply chain disruptions.  

“Unfortunately, it appears Mr. Ford also had a gambling problem. Certainly, that is not an excuse. It’s not a defense. But it is an addiction. The sad reality is that this conduct, in my view, was fueled by a severe gambling addiction. The COVID pandemic really impacted people in a lot of ways, caused a lot of stress and anxiety, and I think Mr. Ford sadly turned to gambling and it just got out of control beyond belief. I think he had a delusion in his mind that somehow the business was going to get back up to snuff and he’d be able to pay the money and that just wasn’t going to happen,” McMahon said in court. “He is remorseful for his conduct.”

Read more on the case here.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.