Home                             Search                                                                                Anita Alvarez , State's Attorney

Office Overview | Victim Services | Press Room | Community Resources | What's New | Careers | Juvenile Justice | Contact


     Community Justice


      Youth Outreach


   Neighborhood Events



    Community Service
               Awards




        Anita Alvarez,
        CBA President

 
Cook County State's Attorney's Office:
Press Releases


Anita Alvarez
Cook County State's Attorney
Communications Department
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 603-3423
saomedia@cookcountygov.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 14, 2009

State's Attorney's Lawsuits Target Unscrupulous Contractors

Four Chicago and suburban home repair contracting companies and their owners have been charged with taking thousands of dollars in down payments for work that was never performed, according to the office of Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

According to the lawsuits filed in Cook County Circuit Court by the State’s Attorney’s Consumer Fraud Unit, the companies are alleged to have defrauded consumers of over $22,000 in down payments for work that was promised.  The companies, located on Chicago’s North Side and in suburban Evergreen Park and Morton Grove, failed to start or complete the contracted work and failed to provide refunds to consumers following written demand by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. In addition, the contractors are alleged to have violated numerous consumer protection laws by failing to disclose consumers’ rights before entering into contracts.

The lawsuits, which were filed last Wednesday, seek consumer refunds and civil penalties of up to $50,000.00.  In addition, the lawsuits seek to enjoin the defendants from engaging in fraudulent business practices.

The contractors named in the suit are:

  • Benjamin Watkins and his company Destiny Builders of Evergreen Park, IL and Jesus Salto, of 4803 S. Laflin and his company JS Construction Gral, are both accused of misrepresenting themselves to consumers as licensed general contractors, failing to perform contracted work and failing to refund down payments to victims. Watkins, who at one point had a valid general contractor’s license, is also accused of selling his license to Salto for a fee.
  • U. S. Design & Installation, Inc of 2125 N. Pulaski and its President Tom Denic, and its Vice-President of Sales, John Colucci, are accused of failing to perform bathroom    remodeling and plumbing work for a Westside senior woman and then failing to return her $5,000.00 deposit. The defendants allegedly refused to commence work under the contract unless the consumer agreed to refinance her home to pay the $6,990.00 balance due when the project was completed.

  • Julian Leuciuc of 7311 Church Street, Morton Grove and his company, Leuciuc’s Plumbing, is charged with having induced others to hire him by misrepresenting himself as a licensed plumber.  After taking deposits from consumers, Leuciuc allegedly failed to perform the contracted work and failed to refund consumers’ deposits after written demand by the State’s Attorney’s Office.

The State’s Attorney’s Office reminds consumers to use care in choosing a contractor. Before hiring a contractor, homeowners should request local references and verify the contractor’s license with the appropriate agency. Consumers should also check the Better Business Bureau website, www.bbb.org, for a reliability report.

Consumers are also encouraged to conduct an online search at the website of the Cook County Circuit Court at www.cookcountyclerkofcourt.org to find out if the contractor has been sued, perhaps by unsatisfied customers. In addition, a simple online Google search may reveal a wealth of information about a contractor at various consumer sites.

Cook County residents who have a complaint about a fraudulent home repair contractor are urged to call the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Consumer Fraud Hotline, at (312) 603-8700. The Consumer Fraud Unit may be able to help you recover your losses, prosecute the person or business responsible for the fraud, and prevent other members of the public from falling victim to the same scheme

View the complaints associated with these charges by clicking on the following links:

 

# # #

- Back -