PERKASIE — A Bucks County landscaper has been charged with 19 felonies after an investigation by the Office of the Attorney General of Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
Nicholas Lukens, 42, of the 2300 block of East Rock Road, Perkasie, is alleged to have taken large deposits from four homeowners for major exterior home improvement work and not completing the projects, according to the criminal complaint.
Lukens, the owner of ECB Landscaping, was charged on March 13 with a variety of felony counts including home improvement fraud, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, theft by deception, deceptive business practices, criminal mischief, and theft by failure to make required deposit of funds.
Police claim that Lukens signed contracts for projects such as in-ground swimming pools, exterior hardscaping, and exterior kitchens, but did not provide the promised work and failed to pay subcontractors.
The Bureau of Criminal Investigations began looking into complaints about ECB Landscaping and Lukens on Dec. 12, 2023, after receiving a referral from the state Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. The complaints included allegations of taking deposits for projects and not providing the work, and misleading customers about partnerships and business ventures.
It was alleged that Lukens took a $30,000 deposit for an outdoor project worth $194,750 but failed to deliver materials or apply for permits, using excuses such as an employee being shot and broken equipment.
In another instance, Lukens received a deposit for a basement walkout project and persuaded the client to agree to a new and more expensive project, ultimately taking several deposits without completing the work.
Subsequently, Lukens allegedly convinced the same client to fund two more projects and received additional deposits, totaling $44,066.
A third claim involved a swimming pool, outdoor kitchen, and fireplace project for which Lukens received a significant upfront payment but did not complete the work, leading to a dispute with a subcontractor and a lien on the customer’s property.
Officials claim that Lukens made a fourth fraudulent claim by getting a subcontractor to do excavation work for a pool project costing $140,000, but the work was never finished.
In a fifth fraudulent claim, Lukens hired the same subcontractor to excavate a pool in Newtown for $39,696, but allegedly didn't pay the invoice and ignored calls, leading the subcontractor to place a mechanic’s lien on the customer’s home to recover their expenses.
Officials stated that Lukens tried to start a landscaping business with a former customer who used ECB Landscaping in 2018. The customer contacted Lukens for more work in early 2023, when Lukens informed him that ECB Landscaping was closing and asked for a $78,000 loan, to which the customer agreed.
Wanting to start his own landscaping business, they discussed doing it together, but the customer discovered that Lukens and his business “were never profitable, had a large amount of institutional debt, and was currently being sued by a former customer,” according to charging documents.
Lukens’ landscaping business has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to the police.
According to court records, Lukens appeared before District Judge Regina Armitage on March 15, who set bail at $200,000 unsecured. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 7 at 2 p.m. before Armitage, according to the court docket.
Lukens also has an ongoing criminal case in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas, according to court records. He is facing a misdemeanor charge of writing bad checks in September 2023, and is awaiting trial. He was arrested by Parkesburg Borough Police in November 2023.
