BRAIDWOOD – An area contractor already under criminal investigation in Grundy County concerning aggravated home repair fraud is now facing similar charges in Will County.

The charges were filed Friday – the same day Steve Johnson, of Reds Concrete in Braidwood, was questioned at the request of the federal judge overseeing his Chapter 13 bankruptcy case about the truthfulness of his recent income tax filings.

Johnson, 42, of the 100 block of North Division Street in Braidwood, was charged with two counts of home repair fraud for entering into contracts with two Braidwood residents but never intending to perform the work, said Charles Pelkie, spokesman for the Will County State's Attorney's Office.

In the first count, Johnson is charged with aggravated home repair fraud – a Class 2 felony. The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office alleges Johnson entered into a $4,500 contract earlier this year with Norman Heiman, of the 600 block of North School Street, to install a driveway but never intended to complete the work.

The charge is considered aggravated, Pelkie said, because Heiman is older than 60.

Johnson also is charged with a second count of home repair fraud – a Class 4 felony – for entering into a $1,200 contract with Elizabeth Walsh, of the 600 block of Eureka Street. The charges allege Johnson told Walsh he would install a patio but never intended to do so.

If he is convicted, the Class 2 felony carries a punishment of three to seven years in prison, while the Class 4 felony is one to three years. Both are probation eligible. A warrant was issued Friday for Johnson’s arrest.

Johnson was charged in April by the Grundy County State's Attorney's Office with aggravated home repair fraud. He is accused of taking $19,000 from a Morris couple for work he was supposed to complete for them in 2013 and 2014.

Prior to charges being filed in the Grundy County case, Jeff Berry, one of the homeowners who said he was defrauded by Johnson, went to small claims court seeking the return of his money. Since then, Berry said he has taken it upon himself to reach out to other potential victims.

“I’ve got a long list,” he said.

Berry learned Friday of the criminal charges against Johnson.

“I feel very good. I can tell you that absolutely, in all honestly, he would have gotten away with all of it if it hadn’t been for me pushing people to file reports and to care about this, to want him stopped,” he said.

Berry said he urges other potential victims to file a report with local police.

“Once they have a report, at least it’s on file,” he said. “Then they can go to the state’s attorney’s office with a copy.”

Braidwood Police Detective Steve Finlon said the department forwarded the reports to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office earlier last week.

Bankruptcy case

Johnson filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy March 16. All creditors – including those who have won civil cases against him – are included in the bankruptcy filing.

An evidentiary hearing was held Friday in the Joliet City Hall Chambers to determine whether the judge should dismiss Johnson’s bankruptcy case on the grounds he lied on his income tax returns. The judge also considered whether to approve his repayment plan, requiring he pay creditors just 10 percent of debt owed.

On Friday, Johnson testified he filed for bankruptcy in March because of the “aggravation from all of the phone calls [from creditors].”

“I wanted a fresh start,” he said.

Johnson admitted during testimony he previously lied by claiming he didn’t make enough in 2012 and 2013 to file tax returns.

Johnson filed amended tax returns only after an investigation proved otherwise, said Gerald Mylander, the attorney for U.S. Bankruptcy Court Chapter 13 Trustee Glenn Stearns.

Mylander said it was discovered through the course of the bankruptcy proceedings that Johnson received income amounting to $30,800 in 2012 and $24,000 in 2013. Both amounts meet the IRS threshold for filing tax returns.

“How come you didn’t file a tax return in 2012?” Mylander asked.

“I thought it was going to be a cash deal,” Johnson said, adding that once he “knew it was going to be a problem,” he rectified it, filing amended tax returns. “I’m sorry about that.”

Three people testified Johnson had more income than what he stated on tax return filings used as the basis for his filing for bankruptcy and for later determining how much to pay his creditors.

That additional income includes at least $55,000 for home repair work in 2013 and a sum of $9,100 that Jason Kehm, of Wilmington, said he loaned to him.

“He said he needed [$9,100] to pay for his daughter’s cosmetology school,” Kehm testified Friday.

Kehm said Johnson made seven monthly payments totaling $1,400 but then stopped.

He said he texted Johnson for “30 straight days,” asking for his money back, but all he received was excuses.

Judge Bruce Black, with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court’s Northern District of Illinois, denied Mylander’s motion to dismiss the case – but he also did not approve Johnson’s 10 percent repayment plan.

“[In bankruptcy cases], I do my best to make sure the right people win ... and the right people lose. Seldom is there a clear winner,” Black said. “I don’t believe [Johnson’s] testimony today when he said, ‘That was it. What you caught me on was all there was.’ ... I don’t believe that. And I don’t believe he expected me to.”

Instead, Black ordered Johnson to return with a revised repayment plan that provides “substantial compensation” for his creditors.

“Ten percent isn’t even in the ballpark,” Black said to Johnson and his attorney.

Johnson refused to comment Friday. Attorney James Durkee, who is representing Johnson in the bankruptcy case, also declined to comment.

When asked by a Herald-News reporter if he could comment on the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office’s filing of criminal charges against Johnson that same day, Durkee questioned whether the charges had been filed.

When the reporter confirmed they had been, Durkee replied, “Oh boy.”

Durkee said he presently does not represent Johnson in the criminal charges.