An Ohio clock repair business owner whose customers paid for unfinished repairs was sentenced to five years of probation on Monday, October 26, 2026. His sentence also included up to six months in a community-based correctional facility, according to Cleveland 19.
Michael Daniel, 38, operated Cleveland Clock Repair LLC, serving customers in Cleveland Heights, Cleveland and Medina. Prosecutors said 42 clocks had not been repaired or returned to their owners, while three others had been returned without the promised work.
The Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas had already ordered Daniel to pay $15,371.68 in victim restitution when he pleaded guilty in August.
Thirty-Two Customers Paid for Repairs They Never Received
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley placed the conduct between January 2021 and October 2025. As Cleveland 19 reported, the prosecution identified 32 victims, ranging from 41 to 95 years old, who were charged for repairs that were never performed.
Prosecutors estimated that customers were charged more than $20,000 for services they did not receive.
A March 2026 Indictment Charged Six Theft Offenses
Document credit: Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, case CR-26-710317-A, indictment, page 1.
A four-page indictment was filed in Cuyahoga County on March 17, 2026, in case CR-26-710317-A. It listed four counts of theft from a person in a protected class and two counts of grand theft, with an alleged offense period running from January 1, 2021, through October 10, 2025.
The protected-class counts included third- and fourth-degree felony allegations under Ohio Revised Code Section 2913.02. The indictment described clocks, watches, money and other property or services allegedly obtained beyond customers’ consent or through deception.
Daniel initially pleaded not guilty at a March 31 arraignment. The court set a $2,500 personal bond and ordered him not to contact the alleged victims. The case later proceeded toward an August 24 trial date.
He Pleaded Guilty to Two Felonies and Was Ordered to Pay $15,371.68
Document credit: Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, case CR-26-710317-A, August 24, 2026 journal entry, page 1.
On August 24, instead of proceeding to trial, Daniel withdrew his not-guilty plea. The court’s journal entry shows that Judge Sherrie Miday accepted a guilty plea to one third-degree felony count of theft from a person in a protected class, amended to include victims named in another count, and one fourth-degree felony count of grand theft.
Prosecutors dismissed counts two, three, four and six.
The judge ordered Daniel to pay $15,371.68 in restitution through the probation department. The amount may be modified depending on the recovery and return of items to the state or prosecutor’s office. Daniel was also ordered to have no contact with the victims.
What the Community-Based Correctional Program Involves
Cuyahoga County’s community-based correctional facility program normally lasts four to six months and provides structured supervision, treatment and education. Participants who complete the program return to supervision by county probation.
Ohio Repair Rules Give Customers Rights to Estimates and Receipts
Under Ohio’s repairs and services rule, customers generally have a right to choose a written or oral estimate when covered work is expected to cost more than $25. The rule also requires a repair business, upon request, to provide an itemized receipt for property left for service, identifying the supplier, the item and the date it was received.
When leaving a valuable clock or watch for repair, customers can photograph it, record its identifying marks, keep the signed receipt and retain payment records and written communications. Suspected nonperformance or withholding of property can be reported through the Ohio Attorney General’s consumer complaint process or to local police where theft is suspected.