DENVER — Despite signing a court agreement that he would not enter into any business contracts, customers have sued Joshua Jessup for taking thousands of dollars and not completing construction work.
“He was a real charmer. He made us trust him,” said Christine Bauer, who won a lawsuit against Jessup this year for taking thousands of dollars and not completing a basement renovation.
Court records show Jessup agreed this month to pay Bauer $147,000 as part of the lawsuit.
The fact Jessup continues to get sued for business dealings appears to indicate he may be violating a court order he signed as part of his probation for felony theft.
"I mean I want to see him locked up,” said Przemek Lott, who also recently sued Jessup for taking $80,000 and not completing basement renovations.
Bauer and Lott said they signed contracts with Jessup after finding his advertisements online for basement renovations. They both didn’t know about Jessup’s legal history with the criminal justice system at the time.
Jessup’s felonious history
Jessup is currently on probation after pleading guilty in a 2020 felony theft case in Douglas County. In the criminal affidavit, three people accused Jessup of taking tens of thousands of dollars without completing car restoration work.
As part of his guilty plea to a felony, Jessup signed conditions for his probation, which began in March of last year and is still active.
In one such document titled “Additional Conditions of Supervision for Economic Crime Offenders,” Jessup agreed not to "enter into any new financial contracts" or “not own a business where I have access to finances…. of other individuals" unless approved by the probation department.
9NEWS found Jessup filed a trade name “High Prairie Landscape” with the state this year while he was under probation.
9NEWS has confirmed with the Arapahoe County District Attorney's Office and the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office that the agencies have received additional complaints about Jessup’s bad business dealings, however, he has not faced additional charges.
Jessup has been called back to court twice over the last month for probation violation hearings, but each time the judge agreed to continue the hearings after Jessup claimed he was still trying to secure an attorney.
Jessup’s next probation violation hearing is set for January.
His former customers have grown frustrated with the system and don’t believe he will be held accountable.
“It’s a joke. So far it’s a joke,” said Lott. "They gave him more time. When does it stop?”
“I would like to see him go to jail so he cannot scam other people,” Bauer said.
In November, 9NEWS approached Jessup in the courthouse parking lot in Douglas County for comment. Jessup denied being in business.
A few days later, Jessup declined a television news interview on the advice of his attorney, he said over text.
How to do background checks
Customers who agree to high-dollar contracts may want to consider spending a few dollars on background checks to see if contractors have a substantial civil or criminal history.
You can check court history here and pay for a criminal background check in Colorado here.
If you have any information about this story or would like to send a news tip, you can contact jeremy@9news.com.
More reporting by Jeremy Jojola:
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