Attorney General sues Cicero-based contractor for alleged fraud

[Boris]

Attorney General sues Cicero-based contractor for alleged fraud

By Ellyn Ong Vea, eovea@mysuburbanlife.com
Cicero Life
Mon Nov 19, 2007, 04:40 PM CST

Cicero, IL -

A Cicero-based contractor cheated several homeowners — including seniors — out of money he took as deposits for home remodeling work he promised but never performed, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by the state Attorney General's office.


Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan filed the lawsuit against Family Home Remodeling, which was based in Cicero and had an office in Berwyn, and its president James O'Connell, after receiving numerous complaints the company failed to remodel people's homes as promised. The lawsuit also said he didn't refund to consumers about $200,000 in deposits.

Madigan said the company violated the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and the Home Repair and Remodeling Act.

"I want to make sure that this company will no longer be able to take advantage of hard-working Illinoisans who are trying to make improvements to their homes," she said in a written statement. "When home repair companies fail to perform the work that they promised, consumers should get their money back."

In her complaint, Madigan asks the Circuit Court of Cook County to bar the company from engaging in further business of home repair and remodeling.

The lawsuit also demands the defendants to pay restitution to consumers and the costs of the lawsuit. The penalties asked for are $50,000 for each violation committed with the intent to defraud and $10,000 for each violation committed against seniors. The complaint also seeks a civil penalty of $50,000.

Phone numbers for Family Home Remodeling were disconnected, and nobody could be reached for comment at a residential phone number connected to the business location.

The complaint alleges that the company entered into installment contracts for home remodeling work worth between $30,000 and $187,000, but failed to follow through on the terms of the contracts. *

In many instances, Family Home Remodeling accepted deposits ranging from $3,500 to $65,000 and delayed work by telling customers that the company was waiting for building permits when, in fact, the company never applied for the building permits, according to the complaint.

In other instances, the company actually began construction but it was so poor that consumers were forced to hire other contractors to tear down and redo the work, the complaint said.

The lawsuit also claims that the company never paid subcontractors for work and, as a result, the subcontractors placed took hold of their homes as security for payment of the work performed.

When consumers demanded that the company refund their deposits, it refused, according to the complaint.

The Attorney General also claimed that Family Home Remodeling and O'Connell also misled customers by claiming to have the appropriate licenses with the City of Chicago when their licenses were not valid at that time.