JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville tree trimmer with a history of arrests and convictions for fraud was recently arrested again.
Arthur Ayers, 45, who has been arrested more than a dozen times in Duval County since 2019, is accused of taking money from homeowners without completing the promised work once again.
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According to an arrest report, Ayers went to a resident’s door to solicit his services on Sept. 12. The homeowner hired him for the job and agreed to pay $1,300, the report said.
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The homeowner told the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office that Ayers began cutting down the tree, but didn’t return to finish the job, leaving them to hire someone else to complete what he started.
After an investigation into Ayers’ criminal history, police found probable cause for an arrest because he engaged “in a systematic, ongoing course of conduct with intent to defraud one or more persons.”
Ayers was charged with defrauding to obtain property with a value of less than $20,000. He was taken to jail on a $55,000 bond.
In 2015 and 2019, Ayers pleaded guilty to organized fraud.