Jul. 26—A Scott Twp. contractor who received a lengthy prison term for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars for a home and garage construction project he never completed will be resentenced after a state appeals court vacated his sentence.

State Superior Court granted Robert Rohwer's appeal of his sentence in a decision July 6.

Lackawanna County Judge Margaret Bisignani Moyle sentenced Rohwer, 39, to six to 30 years in state prison in December 2021 for theft by deception, deceptive business practices and home improvement fraud.

The sentencing came after Moyle convicted him of the charges following a two-day bench trial the previous July.

According to an amended criminal complaint, Rohwer, the owner of Three Nails Contracting, accepted more than $435,000 in 2017 from Mark and Susan Diefenderfer and James and Michele Russell to construct a house and garage on lakefront property at Newton Lake in Greenfield Twp.

However, investigators said Rohwer and his company did only about $59,710 worth of work before abandoning the project.

In sentencing Rohwer to two to 10 years in prison on each of the charges, Moyle also ordered him to make $370,680 in restitution to the victims.

In his appeal, Rohwer maintained the court erred by not merging the sentences for deceptive business practices and home improvement fraud, arguing the convictions were based on the same underlying conduct.

A three-judge Superior Court panel agreed, citing previous rulings by the court.

"As this disposition will disrupt the overall sentencing scheme, we vacate the judgment of sentence and remand for resentencing," the court said.

Superior Court declined to grant Rohwer relief on two other claims, including whether Moyle lacked the authority, at the time of sentencing, to enter additional specific findings of fact on the record and to impose enhanced sentences based on those findings.

In both instances, the appeals court found Moyle acted properly.

Rohwer was most recently housed at the State Correctional Institution at Benner Twp. in Centre County, according to state Department of Corrections online records. He is currently scheduled for resentencing in county court Aug. 3.

Contact the writer: dsingleton@timesshamrock.com, 570-348-9132