SARASOTA COUNTY - A former North Port builder must stay behind bars until he repays $130,000 to his customers who were left with unfinished homes and thousands of dollars in bills, a circuit judge ruled Wednesday.

Joseph Pufta, former owner of Avalon Homes, had agreed to pay the money back to ex-clients when he pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges in October.

The terms of the plea agreement also sent him to jail for 90 days, and the restitution money was supposed to come from the sale of a home Pufta owned with his ex-wife.

But his victims soon discovered Pufta gave all control of the sale over to his ex-wife, who has the home listed at nearly $1 million -- a substantial markup over the home's estimated value.

In a falling real estate market with houses being priced to sell, the home is unlikely to sell anytime soon at that price.

Until it does, Pufta's restitution order did not require him to pay.

When Circuit Judge Rick De Furia heard all of that information Wednesday morning, he ordered Pufta back to jail.

"I'm feeling like we might get some money out of this finally," said Darrin Morehouse of North Port, who stands to recoup $12,500.

The decision left Pufta's family members scrambling to come up with the money, either through a loan or by getting another mortgage on the home, said Pufta's defense attorney, Henry Lee.

In divorce records, the highest estimated value for the home was $800,000 in July, yet it has been listed at nearly $1 million for months.