Jefferson County Contractor Sentenced for Financially Exploiting Elderly Woman

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Wednesday sentenced a contractor from Jefferson County, Missouri to five years of probation, 90 days of house arrest and 80 hours of community service for his role in the financial exploitation of an elderly St. Louis woman. 

Austin James, of Hillsboro, was also ordered to repay $94,606 to the victim’s estate. 

James aided in the crimes of Gino Rives, who the 80-year-old victim hired sometime before Jan. 17, 2021, to repair her roof for $7,500. She next hired Rives, who falsely claimed to be a licensed contractor, to renovate the interior of her home. Rives told the woman to write checks to himself and others, including James, that totaled more than $550,000 for renovations on the one-bedroom, one-bath, 1,100 square-foot home. 

After being contacted by concerned bank employees due to the volume of checks being written on the victims account, the St. Louis City Building Inspector’s Office determined that any work done on the house was worth at most $50,000.

James received eight checks totaling $94,606 between January 2021 and July 2021 for purportedly performing work on the victim’s, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, basement and foundation. Photos presented during the sentencing hearing proved that he did not perform the work for which he had been paid.

James, 27, of Hillsboro, pleaded guilty to one count of identity theft.

Rives, 36, of Edmundson, in St. Louis County, was sentenced in June to 87 months in prison and ordered to repay more than $1 million to elder fraud victims.

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.

Anyone with concerns about suspected abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled should contact Missouri’s Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210.