HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. – The owner of a Hernando County-based pole barn company has been arrested on multiple counts of grand theft following an investigation into allegations of defrauding customers.
Zelora Vernon Hall, 58, owner of Florida Pole Barn Kits, was taken into custody on November 13th and charged with 12 counts of felony grand theft.
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The Hernando County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation in January 2022 after receiving numerous complaints from customers who claimed they had paid Hall thousands of dollars in deposits for pole barns that were never built.
The investigation revealed that between December 2021 and November 2022, Hall accepted over $135,000 in payments from 12 customers without fulfilling his contractual obligations.
Weeks after accepting these deposits, Hall filed for voluntary dissolution of his company.
The State Attorney in the Fifth Judicial District will prosecute the 12 cases originating in Hernando County, while the Florida Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution will handle cases involving victims outside the district.
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“We know that both our local State Attorney, Bill Gladson, and Florida’s Attorney General, Ashley Moody, are equally passionate about holding lawbreakers accountable,” Sheriff Al Nienhuis. “We, therefore, look forward to working with both the State Attorney’s Office and the Office Statewide Prosecution as this case moves through the court system, in an effort to ensure that justice is obtained for all the victims in this case.”
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