BOCA RATON, FL — A Boca Raton man who was already facing one contractor payment case has now been arrested in a second one, according to Palm Beach County court and jail records.
Paulo A. Rocha, 63, was booked into the Palm Beach County jail system late Sunday night, June 21, 2026. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office says the new case involves a Lake Worth-area homeowner who paid Rocha $1,000 for shutter work that investigators say was never completed.
Rocha is charged with a felony count tied to contractor payments between $1,000 and $20,000, records show.
According to the probable cause affidavit, the homeowner hired Rocha on March 24, 2025, to replace an accordion window shutter at her home. The job was supposed to cost $1,000 for materials, with another $200 due for labor after the work was finished.
Investigators say the homeowner gave Rocha a $1,000 check that day. Bank records showed the check was cashed the next day, according to the affidavit.
But the shutter was never delivered or installed, PBSO wrote.
The homeowner told investigators Rocha gave several explanations over the following months, including that the shutter had been damaged and that he was waiting on reimbursement from a supplier before refunding her money. No refund was provided, according to the affidavit.
Investigators also cited text messages from August through October 2025, when the homeowner repeatedly tried to reach Rocha about either finishing the work or returning the money. PBSO said Rocha’s final response came on Sept. 10, 2025, when he said he would contact her after leaving a clinic.
After that, investigators wrote, Rocha stopped communicating and his known phone numbers were disconnected.
In a sworn statement, the homeowner told PBSO that a small repair Rocha had performed did not satisfy the agreement. She said she would not have paid $1,000 for repair work alone, according to the affidavit.
PBSO said the homeowner later identified Rocha in a photo lineup as the person who accepted the money.
The new case comes after Boca Post first reported in January that Rocha had been arrested in a separate contractor payment dispute involving a Delray Beach homeowner.
Court records in that earlier case show Rocha later entered a 12-month pretrial intervention agreement. Under that agreement, prosecution was deferred while Rocha followed court-approved conditions, including paying $2,800 in restitution and not working as a contractor or handyman for pay.
The new affidavit says the latest investigation was assigned for follow-up on Jan. 26, 2026. The record does not say whether the second complaint was discovered through the earlier case, through Boca Post’s reporting, or by some other means.
Jail records listed Rocha’s bond as $0 in the new case. Court records showed a first appearance scheduled for June 22, 2026.
The charge is an allegation. Rocha is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
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