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Is it a crime when a contractor takes your money and does not do the work?

It can be, in states that have a home repair fraud crime. Pennsylvania's act says a person commits home improvement fraud if, with intent to defraud, the person receives any advance payment, fails to perform when specified in the contract and fails to return the payment. Illinois and Louisiana define their own crimes, quoted below.

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132, section 8 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

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By InstaBids editorial team with AI research agents. Sources read: 22 October 2026 Updated 2026-10-22

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Key facts

What does Pennsylvania's law say about advance payments?

It is one of the acts the state's home improvement law lists as a crime. Section 8(a) of Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA) and its item (2) are quoted here in their own words. Section 8(a): "(a) Offense defined.--A person commits the offense of home improvement fraud if, with intent to defraud or injure anyone or with knowledge that he is facilitating a fraud or injury to be perpetrated by anyone, the actor:" Item (2) of that list: "(2) receives any advance payment for performing home improvement services or providing home improvement materials and fails to perform or provide such services or materials when specified in the contract taking into account any force majeure or unforeseen labor strike that would extend the time frame or unless extended by agreement with the owner and fails to return the payment received for such services or materials which were not provided by that date;"

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132, section 8 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

Section 8(c)(2) sets the grade for item (2); it is quoted here in full. HICPA: "(2) A violation of subsection (a)(2) constitutes:" "(i) a felony of the third degree if the amount of the payment retained exceeds $2,000; or" "(ii) a misdemeanor of the first degree if the amount of the payment retained is $2,000 or less or if the amount of the payment cannot be satisfactorily ascertained."

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132, section 8 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

When does Illinois law presume intent not to perform?

815 ILCS 515/3(c) sets a rebuttable presumption of intent or knowledge when, after no performance or no substantial performance, a person fails or refuses to return payments made by the victim and one of its listed facts applies; it is quoted below. Section 3(a) opens: "(a) A person commits the offense of home repair fraud when he knowingly enters into an agreement or contract, written or oral, with a person for home repair, and he knowingly:" Item (1) of that list ends: "or promises performance which he does not intend to perform or knows will not be performed; or"

Source: 815 ILCS 515/3, Home Repair Fraud (Illinois General Assembly), read 22 October 2026.

Subsection (c) is the presumption; its opening words and three of its seven listed facts are quoted here. 815 ILCS 515/3(c): "(c) For purposes of subsection (a), paragraph (1), it shall be a rebuttable presumption of intent or knowledge that a person promises performance which he does not intend to perform and knows will not be performed when, after no performance or no substantial performance of a contract or agreement for home repair, he fails or refuses to return payments made by the victim and he:" "(1) fails to acknowledge or respond to a written demand for commencement or completion of home repair within 10 days after such demand is mailed or presented to him by the victim or by the victim's legal representative or by a law enforcement or consumer agency acting on behalf of the victim; or" "(3) makes false statements or representations to the victim to excuse his non-performance or non-substantial performance; or" "(6) fails to order or purchase the basic materials required for performance of the home repair; or"

Source: 815 ILCS 515/3, Home Repair Fraud (Illinois General Assembly), read 22 October 2026.

The next section sets the class of the offense. 815 ILCS 515/4(a): "(a) Violation of paragraphs (1) or (2) of subsection (a) of Section 3 of this Act shall be a Class 4 felony when the amount of the contract or agreement is more than $1,000, a Class A misdemeanor when the amount of the contract or agreement is $1,000 or less, and a Class 4 felony for the second or subsequent offense when the amount of the contract or agreement is $1,000 or less."

Source: 815 ILCS 515/4 (Illinois General Assembly), read 22 October 2026.

How does Louisiana define residential contractor fraud?

La. R.S. 14:202.1 defines residential contractor fraud as the misappropriation or intentional taking of anything of value which belongs to another, and says it may be inferred when a person fails to perform any work during a forty-five-day period after receiving payment; both are quoted below. La. R.S. 14:202.1, in its own words: "A. Residential contractor fraud is the misappropriation or intentional taking of anything of value which belongs to another, either without the consent of the other to the misappropriation or taking, or by means of fraudulent conduct, practices, or representations by a person who has contracted to perform any home improvement or residential construction, or who has subcontracted for the performance of any home improvement or residential construction." "A misappropriation or intentional taking may be inferred when a person does any of the following:" "(1) Fails to perform any work during a forty-five-day period of time or longer after receiving payment, unless a longer period is specified in the contract."

Source: La. R.S. 14:202.1, Residential contractor fraud; penalties (Louisiana State Legislature), read 22 October 2026.

Paragraph B sets which work the section covers. La. R.S. 14:202.1: "B. For purposes of this Section," "home improvement or residential construction" "means any alteration, repair, modification, construction, or other improvement to any immovable or movable property primarily designed or used as a residence or to any structure within the residence or upon the land adjacent to the residence."

Source: La. R.S. 14:202.1, Residential contractor fraud; penalties (Louisiana State Legislature), read 22 October 2026.

How do the statutes address prosecution and unfinished work?

In our reading, each of these laws turns on intent, knowledge or a listed set of facts, not on a missed date alone; the passages that set those limits are quoted below. Illinois: "Intent and knowledge shall be determined by an evaluation of all circumstances surrounding a transaction and the determination shall not be limited to the time of contract or agreement." The same section: "Substantial performance shall not include work performed in a manner of little or no value or work that fails to comply with the appropriate municipal, county, State or federal regulations or codes."

Source: 815 ILCS 515/3, Home Repair Fraud (Illinois General Assembly), read 22 October 2026.

Pennsylvania's item (2), quoted above, includes the words "(2) receives any advance payment for performing home improvement services or providing home improvement materials and fails to perform or provide such services or materials when specified in the contract taking into account any force majeure or unforeseen labor strike that would extend the time frame or unless extended by agreement with the owner and fails to return the payment received for such services or materials which were not provided by that date;". Louisiana's forty-five-day item ends with the words "unless a longer period is specified in the contract."

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132, section 8 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.
Source: La. R.S. 14:202.1, Residential contractor fraud; penalties (Louisiana State Legislature), read 22 October 2026.

Pennsylvania's act gives the district attorneys of the several counties the authority to institute criminal proceedings, and Louisiana's says a person convicted shall be ordered to make full restitution to the victim; both passages are quoted below. Pennsylvania, sections 8(b) and 8(d)(1): "(b) Prosecution.--Prosecutions under this section shall not bar prosecution or conviction for any other crimes." "(1) The district attorneys of the several counties shall have the authority to investigate and to institute criminal proceedings for any violation of this section."

Source: Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, Act of Oct. 17, 2008, P.L. 1645, No. 132, section 8 (Pennsylvania General Assembly, official PDF), read 22 October 2026.

Louisiana, paragraphs D(1) and E: "In addition to the penalties provided in Subsection C of this Section, a person convicted of residential contractor fraud shall be ordered to make full restitution to the victim and any other person who has suffered a financial loss as a result of the offense." "E. Nothing in this Section shall preclude a victim from pursuing civil remedies pursuant to R.S. 9:4856 or any other applicable provision of law."

Source: La. R.S. 14:202.1, Residential contractor fraud; penalties (Louisiana State Legislature), read 22 October 2026.

What should you gather before you report it?

Build a dated paper trail first: the contract, proof of each payment, and a written demand that gives a deadline, so whoever reads the file can see what was promised, what was paid and what happened next. This is practical reasoning, not legal advice and not a finding from any agency.

  1. Put the signed contract, any change orders and every receipt, cancelled check or card statement for the payments in one folder.
  2. Write down, with dates, each start date you were given, each excuse and each time the contractor did not answer.
  3. Keep your written demand and a record of the contractor's response.

    Source: 815 ILCS 515/3, Home Repair Fraud (Illinois General Assembly), read 22 October 2026.

  4. Take photos of the site as it stands, including any materials that were or were not delivered.
  5. Bring the folder to your local police or the prosecutor's office for the county where the home is, and ask whether your state has a home repair fraud law.
  6. Ask a lawyer or your state's consumer protection office about getting the money back, since a criminal case and a claim for your payment can run separately.

Who sees your contact details when you post on InstaBids?

Contact details stay hidden until the homeowner picks a contractor and they confirm the connection.

Source: InstaBids process and privacy, live-page excerpts, read 22 October 2026.

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