VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – A 36-year-old Orlando man faces charges after deputies said he collected a $37,044 cash payment for a solar project on a Volusia County home, then disappeared with the money.

According to a news release, an Ormond Beach couple contacted the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office on Oct. 17, 2024, to “report a case of fraud and grand theft.”

Deputies said the couple contracted with Powur BBC, Inc. for the project in early April. In May and June, the homeowners made payments totalling $24,519 to start work on the project.

According to the sheriff’s office, a representative from the company – identified as Steven James Scott – arrived at the couple’s home on July 8 as the company started work on the solar job.

Scott told the couple that he needed $37,044 as the third payment and stated that if they “made the requested payment in cash, the final payment” would be discounted, deputies said.

According to the release, the homeowners paid Scott $37,044 in cash. They told deputies that they then overheard him tell his employer on the phone that he collected the payment before leaving their home.

However, on July 18, the couple received an invoice from Powur BBC that did not reflect the $37,044 payment. The homeowners tried to contact Scott, but their calls were not returned, deputies said.

When the couple contacted representatives from Powur BBC, they were told the company “does not accept cash payments, and they had not authorized Scott to collect any payment from them,” according to an arrest affidavit.

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According to the sheriff’s office, after the couple discussed the matter a number of times with Powur BBC and a law firm over the summer of 2024, they decided to contact law enforcement after being told Scott cannot be reached and that he no longer worked for the company.

“First, he lied about collecting the money. Then he quit and hasn’t been heard from since,” the sheriff’s office wrote on a social media post on Dec. 22.

In the same post, deputies said that a judge signed a warrant for his arrest on one count of organized scheme to defraud and one count of grand theft, carrying a $40,000 bond with nationwide pickup. Scott’s last known address was in Orlando, and deputies asked for the public’s help locating him.

According to the affidavit, Scott was arrested on Dec. 31 in Seminole County, but the details of the arrest weren’t released.

Scott has since been transferred to the Volusia county jail where he faces charges of grand theft and organized scheme to defraud, deputies said.

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