Contractor with criminal cases in 3 Upstate counties now charged with ripping off Central NY homeowner

Clay, N.Y. — A contractor with three criminal cases pending in the Capital Region is now accused of stealing from a Bayberry homeowner.
Dakota A. Smith, 29, allegedly accepted a $5,525 down payment for home improvement work he never performed, troopers said in a criminal complaint filed in Clay town court. He was charged Nov. 5 with third-degree grand larceny.
Prosecutor Peter Hakes said investigators are working to understand the work Smith did, or did not do, in Onondaga County. He said troopers have a “continuing” investigation into Smith and potential additional victims.
The new charge adds to Smith’s legal troubles. He currently has pending criminal cases in Albany, Greene and Saratoga counties.
Smith pleaded guilty in July to second-degree grand larceny after pocketing most of the $100,000 he was paid to renovate a home, according to the Greene County District Attorney’s Office. He had been scheduled to be sentenced last month in that case.
In Albany County, Smith allegedly accepted $39,000 to renovate a home, but never did the work, the county sheriff told the Albany Times Union. He was arrested last month and charged with third-degree grand larceny.
Smith pleaded guilty this fall in Saratoga County to third-degree grand larceny, records show. He is scheduled to be sentenced in January.
Hakes said local prosecutors plan to coordinate their efforts with other officials investigating Smith.
Hakes said it is too early to say whether prosecutors will seek certain penalties from a judge, such as banning Smith from future contract work.
“If he ends up in a prison sentence in one or more counties,” Hakes said, “he will probably be unable to work as a contractor.”
Smith also faces two civil lawsuits from homeowners who say he took their money but did not complete agreed-upon renovations.
Smith previously served about a year in state prison after he and his mother took more than a million dollars from her employer, the East Syracuse-based New York State Weatherization Directors Association.
He is being held on no bail in the Onondaga County Justice Center jail, records show.
Troopers ask anyone with information about Smith to call them at 315-366-6000 and refer to case NY2400786199.
Staff writer Jon Moss covers breaking news, crime and public safety. He can be reached at [email protected] or @mossjon7.