Home repair fraud incidents being investigated in Grundy County

MORRIS – When Jeff and Debbie Berry started looking for a contractor to tear out and install a new stamped drive and walkway, they did their homework – or so they thought.

The Morris couple hired Reds Concrete in Braidwood, owned by Steve Johnson, for the project after checking out other work done by the business. Johnson was supposed to start in November 2013.

Instead, that was the start of a long string of excuses the Berrys said they received that first kept Johnson from beginning – and then finishing – the job. The couple eventually hired another contractor to complete the driveway work.

“He never showed up to do anything,” Jeff Berry said.

Johnson was criminally charged this month by the Grundy County State’s Attorney’s Office with felony aggravated home repair fraud. He is the second contractor to be charged in Grundy County in the past year and the office is investigating other cases, State’s Attorney Jason Helland said.

“I want to send the message that Grundy County is not open for business,” Helland said.

Johnson was not available for comment, despite repeated attempts to reach him during the past week.

The beginning

Jeff Berry met Steve Johnson in summer 2013 when “he stopped to help me with a flat tire on Route 6. He gave me a card and said to give him a call about the driveway,” Berry said. “I gave him a call and checked out other jobs he did and hired him on Nov. 8, 2013.”

The Berrys provided Reds Concrete with a $6,000 deposit on a $19,000 contract. Johnson was supposed to start work the following Monday, Jeff Berry said.

The Berrys said Johnson finally showed up at their home May 5, 2014, and brought two employees with him. They tore out the back sidewalk, the stoop to the front door and then left saying they would be back the next day.

“He was supposed to show up on the sixth, the seventh, the eighth, the ninth, and he didn’t,” Jeff Berry said.

Two weeks later, according to Berry, Johnson came back and removed a 10-by-10-foot section of asphalt. He wanted another payment of $1,000 because he said he needed to have a semi come in to haul away what they removed.

Then he disappeared again.

“He had a lot of excuses when we could get a hold of him. He answered about one out of every three calls, and it was always an excuse,” Berry said. “His daughter had a car accident. His wife was sick. His friend was in hospice. He was sick.”

Before criminal charges were filed, the Berrys were told by police they could file a civil suit against Johnson, but at that time criminal charges could not be pursued. Because all of the conversations with Johnson were on the phone, they had nothing in writing about him not showing up. All they had was the original contract stating how much the work he was to perform was to cost.

Finally, Berry said Johnson texted, saying he wasn’t coming back.

While they waited, Debbie Berry said the family had limited access to areas of their home, no one could enter through the front door, and they had to cancel a family party.

Berry took the necessary paperwork to the Grundy County State’s Attorney’s Office and was originally told he needed to file a civil case against Johnson and his business.

Berry did so, and on July 16, 2014, with Johnson not present, a judgment was entered in favor of Berry in the amount of $7,300 and court costs, according to court documents. Berry was later served papers stating Johnson had filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy and despite having won the civil judgment, he wouldn’t see that money anytime soon.

Court documents confirm Johnson filed for bankruptcy March 16.

Attorney James Durkee with Malmquist and Geiger Law offices, who is representing Johnson in his bankruptcy proceedings, said all creditors – including those who have won civil cases against Johnson – are included in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy.

He said at the end of a three-to five-year plan there would be a discharge of debt. It has not been determined how much of the debt Johnson would be required to pay.

Durkee had no comment on the civil case and said he has not been retained to represent Johnson for his criminal charges.

'This makes you
so distrustful'

The Berrys hired another contractor to complete the work at the same cost – $19,000 – of the original contract.

“When the new contractor showed up, I didn’t trust him,” Debbie Berry said. “I pulled a chair out there and watched them work.”

The second contractor was understanding of what the couple had been through and didn’t ask for any money upfront. He was halfway done before they issued him the first payment.

“He said to me, ‘If you don’t feel right paying me I understand. It’s OK,’ but we gave him a payment,” Debbie Berry said. “The sad part is this makes you so distrustful.”

The Berrys aren't the only ones who appear to have had problems. According to a search for Reds Concrete on the Better Business Bureau website, six customer complaints have been filed with the BBB against the company.

Dwight Police Chief Tim Henson said his office is investigating a similar case for a local resident who hired Johnson to perform work on his home.

“We are in the middle of an investigation [with a local resident] who has won a civil lawsuit for $6,000 and has not seen a dime of it,” Henson said.

“We’re still putting the pieces together to make sure that he is the only victim in our community,” Henson added.

Livingston County State’s Attorney Seth Uphoff said the county actively prosecutes those involved in home repair fraud, and would seek to do the same to Johnson if the Dwight investigation shows charges are warranted.

Several civil suits involving Reds Concrete are listed in Will County Circuit Court records. As of Friday, the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office had not received any police reports from local agencies nor had the office filed any criminal charges against Johnson, spokesman Charles B. Pelkie said.

Felony charges

After getting the text from Johnson saying he wouldn’t come back, Berry reached out to Grundy County State’s Attorney Helland since he now had something in writing. On April 1 a grand jury returned an indictment against Johnson for aggravated home repair fraud, a Class 2 felony. A warrant was issued, with bond set at $20,000, according to court documents.

Johnson was arrested April 14 and is out on bond, Helland said. He is due in court May 7.

Johnson is the second contractor to be charged in Grundy County in the past year, Helland said. Joseph Hisel was charged in June 2014 with two counts of home repair fraud over $1,000, both Class 4 felonies, and one count of theft over $500, a Class 3 felony, according to court documents. That case is pending.

Helland said he can’t specifically comment on the Johnson case since it is an open case, but he had advice for homeowners hiring contractors to do work on their home.

“To avoid home repair fraud, people should check references, check the Better Business Bureau, never pay in cash, and always get three estimates,” Helland said.

He said a situation such as this becomes a criminal case when the contractor promises performance with no intent to perform the services.

What makes a case aggravated home repair fraud, Helland said, is when the victim is over the age of 60 or disabled, and the amount paid is at least $500. Berry is older than 60 and he paid $7,000.

Helland said home repair fraud is not rare, but often the correct paperwork is not in place to protect the homeowner.

He said payments, and at what time those payments will be made, should be clear on the contract. A start date should be listed, and payments made by check or money order to prove the amount paid.