A Saratoga County builder and contractor who was accused of ripping off homeowners has been sentenced but has avoided jail time. 

 District Attorney James Murphy said Tuesday that builder James McLagan has been sentenced to five years probation and must make over than $72,000 in restitution on charges of grand larceny. 

 McLagan was sentenced after pleading guilty to two counts in a plea bargain after being accused of taking money for work on new homes in subdivisions known as 'Nielsen's Landing' and 'Washington's Crossing' in the City of Saratoga Springs. 

 The DA says McLagan took money for work on new homes and instead used that money for work on other homes. Murphy says the conviction stands as a warning to contractors that "they cannot take a new customer's money even to pay off debt from an old job."