NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A Nassau County man with multiple warrants for theft has been arrested, according to a police report.
Paul Rushing, 53, is charged with theft and contracting without a license. Police said he has a history of taking money from clients and not refunding them or doing the job.
Rushing was running “Stateline Home Services” when he would promise customers services that he wouldn’t accomplish. Rushing’s arrest report said there were six outstanding felony warrants from Camden and Glynn counties in Georgia for theft by deception.
News4JAX spoke with a victim in this case and police believe there may be more victims out there. The victim said he feels Rushing cherry-picks people he’s going to scam.
“I think this is more a case of he’s a bad guy,” Thomas Meehan, a client, said. “And he shouldn’t be allowed to do this to people.”
He doesn’t think he’ll get his money back after contracting Stateline Home Services to add an awning to his Amelia Island home.
Back in August, Meehan said he put down 50% of the payment for the job. He signed agreements with Stateline.
“Then later that same day, we learned that there were HOA procedures that would delay putting up the awnings,” Meehan said. “So we contacted Stateline… and told him that we would have to put this off for several months. And you know, we just assume you know, cancel it and start over.”
He said things went downhill when the company never got back to him.
There was a subpoena for Rushing’s Vystar Credit Union account. It showed more than $9,000 was deposited into his account on August 24, 2022. A month later an employee told the victim Rushing is the only person depositing money for the company.
Meehan shared an email sent directly to Rushing to confirm if their deposit was being refunded.
News4JAX asked Meehan if he had done his research on the company before paying them. He said at the time, he didn’t see complaints on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
We found multiple complaints, going back to 2021, and one from as recent as last month, where a person says they filed a civil suit against the business, saying they took their money but wouldn’t take their calls, refund them, or do the job.
The BBB admits they should’ve done more to protect people. Rushing’s Business has had an “F” rating.
Moving forward, the BBB said if you have to give a downpayment, make it no more than 30% installments and that’s when you start to see the work being done.
If you have contracted with this company you are asked to come forward and call the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office.