(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Lawsuits have been filed against two contractors who tried to fleece consumers, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced today.
The lawsuits accuse business owners Joseph Schlosser and Daniel Sechriest of violating the Consumer Sales Practices Act.
Defiance County – Building with Faith Construction, LLC
Schlosser, through his company Building with Faith Construction offered general contracting and home remodeling services in northwest Ohio. Six consumers complained that the work was done poorly or not done at all. The lawsuit filed recently seeks $131,792 in damages.
Schlosser was previously charged criminally by the Henry County Prosecutor for his conduct relating to the business and pleaded guilty to attempted engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, a third-degree felony. In August, he was sentenced to four days in jail and five years of community control, and the court ordered him to pay $154,644 in restitution to his former consumers.
Muskingum County – Ryan Construction and Roofing LLC
A lawsuit filed in Muskingum County Common Pleas Court alleges that Worthington resident Daniel Sechriest defrauded customers by providing services through his company, Ryan Construction and Roofing, that were incomplete, shoddy and substandard.
The suit also alleges that Sechriest entered into contracts stating that the final price is the agreed-on price between the consumer’s insurance company and the supplier. The consumer was supposed to pay the insurance deductible. Sechriest would then add supplemental work to the contract for which the insurance company and the consumer did not separately agree to pay prior to the supplemental work being completed. Sechriest would then put a lien on the consumers’ home for charges above and beyond what the insurance company agreed to pay.
Sechriest is no stranger to litigation. In 2007, he was found to have violated consumer protection laws through his remodeling company, Mastergard Inc. And in 2013, Sechriest signed an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance with the attorney general’s office as President and Treasurer of U.S. Restoration and Remodeling, Inc. for engaging in shoddy and unworkmanlike services.
The total loss for consumers in the most recent case is approximately $31,000.
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Hannah Hundley: 614-906-9113
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