St. Augustine Man Arrested for Allegedly Defrauding Palm Coast Couple

A contractor from St. Augustine was arrested on Friday for allegedly defrauding a Palm Coast couple of $40,000. 43-year-old Michael Struhar was accused of spending the money buying autographed baseball cards from an online auction website. The victims contacted Struhar’s company Sunshine State Contractor Services in December 2025, according to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. They were arranging for work to be done on their residence in Palm Coast. The work was supposed to be completed within three months. In April 2026, the victims contacted the FCSO about the situation. They told detectives that Struhar came to their home once, removed and painted one wall, and never came back. Subsequent text messages and calls to Struhar were reportedly ignored. The victims later sent a certified letter demanding their money be refunded; this was also ignored according to the FCSO. The agency’s General Assignment Unit conducted an investigation into Struhar. A subpoena was issued to Chase Bank for Struhar’s financial records, seeking to prove that the $40,000 had indeed been transferred to his account. The results reportedly showed the transfer having occurred on December 18, 2025. Over the following weeks, records reportedly show Struhar spending $33,550 on the website ‘Whatnot’, an auction platform where customers bid on memorabilia as it’s being opened on a live stream by the seller. By the end of December Struhar’s account was reportedly $482.72 in the negative. This deficit ballooned to $2,358.45 in January. In June a detective visited Struhar’s last known address in St. Augustine. A neighbor advised he no longer resided there. Contact was made with his ex-wife, who told law enforcement he was evicted and no longer lived in St. Augustine. She also said that subcontractors had been visiting her home for months demanding money owed to them by Struhar, and that he’d texted her saying those matters were settled. Struhan was charged with grand theft over $20,000, and a warrant for his arrest was produced by Circuit Judge Melissa Distler. The FCSO Fugitive Apprehension Unit and Problem Area Crime Enforcement Unit located and arrested Struhar on Friday. He was transferred to the county jail and later released on $50,000 bond. Struhar has one previous arrest in Flagler County, for grand theft $5,000 to $10,000 and altering a bank note in January 2019. “This contractor’s version of ‘if you build it, he will come’ was build nothing, take the cash, and buy baseball cards.” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “He painted one wall and called it a day. Contractors who think they can come to Flagler County and pocket someone’s money should think again. Our detectives will relentlessly track down scammers and thieves posing as honest professionals and take them to the [county jail].” The FCSO advises those seeking contractor work to pay with check or card to leave a trail, hold final payment until work is completed, and verify the contractor through reputable databases. As of Wednesday, the investigation into Struhar is still ongoing. The FCSO is asking others who believe they’ve been defrauded by Sunshine State Contractor Services to reach out at (386) 313-4911.