Malta contractor, previously convicted of embezzlement, accused of not doing job

State Police have arrested a Malta contractor, previously convicted of embezzlement, for allegedly taking a deposit from a client and failing to start the job.

Dakota Smith, who owns DAS Builders & Remodeling LLC, is accused of entering into an agreement with a Clifton Park resident to complete a home renovation project. He took a $18,000 deposit and failed to start the work or purchase the necessary materials for the project, according to a news release.

Smith was unable to return the victim’s deposit. An investigation determined that Smith has done this before.

Smith turned himself in to the State Police station in Clifton Park. He was issued an appearance ticket and is due in Clifton Park Town Court on Sept. 28.

Smith has a criminal record. He was sentenced in November 2018 to 2 to 6 years in state prison and ordered to pay about $249,000 in restitution after he and his mother, Randi Smith, were charged in an embezzlement scheme.

Between Nov. 8, 2017 and May 1, 2018, Dakota Smith wrote over $300,000 worth of checks without authorization to himself, his construction business, and to his father’s business using the New York State Weatherization Directors Association’s Bank of America business checking account. When the bank inquired about the unusual activity on the account, he provided a forged contract between his construction company and the agency to justify the funds, according to release from the Albany County District Attorney’s Office.

Dakota Smith was released in January 2021, according to the state inmate database.  

Randi Smith was sentenced to 3 to 9 years in prison for embezzling $831,000. She was released in May 2021.