December 12, 2025
PRESS RELEASE:
Ginger Bowden Madden, State Attorney for the First Judicial Circuit of Florida,
announces on December 11, 2025, the Honorable Judge Simon sentenced
Defendant, Jesse Lacoste, to 10 years state prison followed by 5 years
probation. A jury found Jesse Lacoste guilty of grand theft over $20,000 and
contractor fraud over $20,000 after a two-day trial in October. Defendant is
also ordered to pay $506,435.81 in restitution to the victim in this case and is
prohibited from working in the construction industry.
Defendant submitted a contractor license application with fraudulent
information and omissions. Defendant then used this fraudulently obtained
license and other contractual misrepresentations to obtain over $157,000 in
funds from a Victim. Defendant received money in excess of the value of the
work performed, appropriated the money for his own purposes, and then
abandoned the victim’s residential construction.
Assistant State Attorney Robert Paul Gillespie tried the case on behalf of State
Attorney Ginger Bowden Madden. Former ASAs Mikeala Ziko and Russ Edgar
assisted with the prosecution, along with the dedicated Economic Crime
paralegals and staff. Please contact ASA Gillespie at (850) 595-4200 with any
questions.
