Camden County Prosecutor Mary Eva Colalillo and Berlin Township Police Chief Leonard Check reported the owner of a Berlin Township window business has been indicted for allegedly stealing thousands of dollars from dozens of customers.
A Grand Jury on Thursday returned a 64-count indictment against Firas Emachah, 42, owner and CEO of Dream House Windows, Inc. The indictment includes 46 counts of theft by deception, 17 counts of bad checks and one count of theft by failure to make required disposition of property received.
It is alleged that between the fall of 2013 and the spring of 2014, Emachah, a Shamong resident, took over $200,000 in deposits from customers for various home repair contracts knowing the work would not be done. The victims were located throughout New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
When some customers attempted to cancel their contracts and obtain a refund, Emachah allegedly wrote thousands of dollars in bad checks to avoid making the payment. In addition, Emachah allegedly wrote bad checks to subcontractors, supply companies and government agencies in furtherance of the scheme. No other Dream House Windows employees were charged in this matter.
A pre-arraignment conference has been scheduled in Camden County Superior Court for January 15th.
Dream House Windows was based at 141 Cooper Road in West Berlin. Emachah is also believed to do business under the company names Zaza Corp. or Dream House Exteriors.
Anyone who believes they are a victim is urged to contact Camden County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Grace Clodfelter at (856) 225-8479.