Maryland Builder Charged With Pocketing $1M+ Of Customer Money & Failing To Construct Homes

In Prince George's County, Maryland, The Gazette reports:

• Three people were indicted Thursday on charges of accepting more than $1 million for homes in Upper Marlboro that were never built, according to the Office of the State's Attorney for Prince George's County.

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• [Leon and Emma Coleman, who ran a company called Opportunity Investment Group] face 57 counts of theft over $500 and charges of violating the state's Homebuilder Act, [...]. Kathy Ridley of Ellicott City, who allegedly vouched for the Colemans' reliability and helped their clients secure bank loans, faces 13 counts of theft and conspiracy [...].

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• The Homebuilder Act requires builders to keep clients' payments in escrow accounts that are separate from their personal accounts and to hold the funds in trust for their clients. "This is our first foray into the homebuilder stuff from the criminal side," said [Assistant State's Attorney Doyle] Niemann. "We prosecute somebody who mugs somebody on the street for $50. Here these people lost a million."

For more, see Homebuilders, broker indicted for not developing Upper Marlboro lots (Duped homebuyers left with thousands in debt and no house to show for it).

For other posts on homeowners left in the lurch due to actions by builders/contractors, go here, go here, go here, and go here. StiffingContractorsZeta