Contractor, Attorney Consent To $104K+ Restitution, $550K Civil Penalties In Alleged Mechanics Lien Racket That Threatened Seniors With Foreclosure

From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:

• Attorney General Bill McCollum [] announced his office has obtained a judgment against a South Florida plumbing company, resolving allegations that Tri-County Plumbing Services sent salesmen posing as plumbers to mislead consumers into paying exorbitant prices for plumbing work. The terms of the judgment provide consumer restitution of more than $104,000.

• The Attorney General’s Economic Crimes Division began investigating the company after receiving multiple consumer complaints, including some complaints from senior citizens who reported they felt they were targeted because of their age. Not only did consumers complain about dramatically inflated prices, some were threatened with the loss of their homes and liens against their property if they didn’t pay the company. Some consumers complained that salesmen had used sledgehammers to gouge holes in their walls, driving up the cost of repairs.

• In addition to obtaining restitution for victims, the Attorney General’s Office also obtained a judgment against the company for $550,000 in civil penalties, which if collected will go to the state’s General Revenue fund, to the benefit of Florida taxpayers. The consent judgment names Tri-County Plumbing, along with Randall Gilbert, Leslie Gilbert and Susan Gilbert. Randall Gilbert, a South Florida attorney, is also prohibited from lecturing to members of the construction or plumbing industry.

Source: Attorney General Obtains More Than $104,000 for Consumers From South Florida Plumbing Company.

For the consent judgment, see State of Florida v. All-In-One Enterprises, Inc., et al.