Oklahoma Home Repairman Pleads No Contest to Fraud

An Oklahoma home repairman has pleaded no contest to one count of home repair fraud.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt says 51-year-old Mark Stacy Whitney entered the plea on Monday in Pottawatomie County District Court. A no contest plea has the same effect as a guilty plea but is not an admission of guilt.

Whitney was charged in Oklahoma, Canadian, Carter and Pottawatomie counties with defrauding homeowners in a home repair scheme that often left homeowners with unfinished projects. Some homeowners paid up to 95 percent of the cost of construction, and the work was never completed.

Under the plea agreement, Whitney received a 5-year deferred sentence and probation. Conditions of his probation include payment of $60,000 in restitution to victims and not engaging in the home repair business in Oklahoma.