Contractor Jesse LaCoste Charged With Fraud, Larceny

January 26, 2023

Local contractor Jesse Wayne LaCoste has been arrested on larceny and fraud charges in Escambia County.

According to jail records, LaCoste was charged with two counts of larceny between $20,000 and $100,000, insurance fraud between $20,000 and $100,000, larceny by a contractor failing to refund, and grand theft between $750 and $5,000.

LaCoste, 31, was released on a $130,000 bond within an hour of being booked in the Escambia County Jail.

LaCoste and his contractor brother-in-law Matthew Banks, have had their contractor licenses revoked in both Escambia and Santa Rosa counties after multiple accusations that they took payment for work that was never completed or even started.  LaCoste was arrested in November on charges in Santa Rosa County for accepting $15,000 for work that was never done.

Earlier this month, LaCoste told the Escambia County Contractor Competency Board that he wants his privilege to pull building permits reinstated so that he can get back to work .

“I’ve been called a lot of things this year,” LaCoste said, adding that he has been a builder for 11 years as of this month. “I had nothing but beautiful relationships all along the Gulf Coast, and was touted as something pretty good to work with for a long time. And had nothing but positive interactions.”

“This year, I’ve had my entire life stripped from me,” an emotional LaCoste said at the January meeting. “I’ve continued to be the same person I am, while being called everything you can imagine, receiving death threats and all of those things.”

The Contractor Competency Board told they him would revisit the reinstatement request in the future after fines and restitution are paid.

Comments

11 Responses to “Contractor Jesse LaCoste Charged With Fraud, Larceny”

  1. JB on January 31st, 2023 7:31 am

    That $13000 spent on bail could have gone towards paying someone back

  2. Stumpknocker on January 27th, 2023 11:43 am

    With all the money he and the other has stolen, they should have frozen all their assets, and once the trial over if found guilty, seize it all.

  3. anne on January 27th, 2023 5:32 am

    This man has NO conscience! He can’t hear everything people are saying about him and he needs to be thankful for that. I wondered about all of the bond money he produces for himself too. Amazing.

  4. Anne on January 26th, 2023 7:36 pm

    WHERE is All the Money he took from Innocent Trusting people?
    WHAT did this piece of junk DO with All the Money he took frauduently?
    TERRIBLE he Bilked these Good Folks out of their Hard Earned Funds.
    HOW does he Keep Bailing OUT of Jail.
    HEARD him the other day Asking to get his License Renewed so he could work and Pay Back those he Stole From.
    Back in The Day folks may have handled this themselves.
    JUSTICE BE Served.

  5. Beach Boy on January 26th, 2023 3:40 pm

    “Be sure your sins will find you out.” Numbers 32:23

  6. steve on January 26th, 2023 3:39 pm

    Even with him going to jail, that will not make the victims whole again. They lost money and TRUST. Trust gonna be very hard for this guy to get back.
    He will need to do the work first prior to any payments and hope the person is happy with it and pays him. Maybe 10 years of doing that and he will understand why what he did betraying people’s trust is a very bad thing..

  7. Bill on January 26th, 2023 3:23 pm

    This guy is delirious he and his BIL have stolen millions of dollars from hard working folks and now is spending thier money to get out of jail, he shouldn’t have a bond

  8. mnon on January 26th, 2023 2:14 pm

    scammers play good victims.

  9. NPC on January 26th, 2023 1:35 pm

    “I’ve had my entire life stripped from me….”. At what point have you considered the lives of those you stole from? You are pathetic.

  10. John Bone Jones on January 26th, 2023 1:13 pm

    You made some really bad decisions, sir. You speculated and lost. You can’t expect to just get off scot free when so many of the customers you took risks on are suffering.

  11. Gman on January 26th, 2023 1:10 pm

    All this money he’s spending to bond out of jail he should have paid his victims back some of their loss.