According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, a St. Augustine contractor was detained on Friday after stealing $40,000 from a Palm Coast couple for home improvements he never finished and using the majority of the funds to purchase baseball cards.
The suspect was identified by the sheriff’s office as Sunshine State Contractor Services LLC owner Michael Struhar, 43. Investigators claim that after signing a general service agreement that required the work to be completed within three months, the couple wired $40,000 in December 2025.
After making one appearance, Struhar painted and removed one wall before disappearing. According to officials, the couple’s calls and texts were unanswered, and a certified letter requesting a refund was disregarded.
When the victims reported the event in April, the General Assignment Unit of the sheriff’s office launched an investigation. Soon after the wire transfer, bank records revealed about $33,500 in Zelle payments and almost $11,500 in cash and debit withdrawals.
Investigators claim that recurrent transactions went to an online auction site where Struhar allegedly purchased signed baseball cards, and that none of the money was used for supplies for the homeowners’ project.
According to the office, the account was overdrawn by the end of December and was negative for the majority of the following months.
According to the sheriff’s office, Struhar’s ex-wife told police that underpaid subcontractors had been coming to her house since December and that Struhar texted her to say the certified letter had been “all good, already taken care of.”
The State Attorney’s Office authorized an arrest warrant after detectives presented the case. The warrant for grand theft of more than $20,000 with a $50,000 bond was signed by a judge.
Struhar was taken into custody on Friday by the Problem Area Crime Enforcement Unit and the FCSO Fugitive Apprehension Unit. After being brought to the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, he was set free on a $50,000 bond.
