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***Scam Alert*** AG Mills Warns Maine Consumers about Home Contractor barred in Massachusetts
December 20, 2013
(AUGUSTA) Attorney General Janet T. Mills is alerting Maine consumers about a Massachusetts man who was barred from running a home repair business in that state after he was found to have had a long record of defrauding customers. Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley?s Office has taken repeated action against Richard Myers of Hanover, Massachusetts ? operating under the business name of Atlantic Restoration Company. According to a 2012 press release from Attorney General Coakley?s Office: ?In November 2006, the AG?s Office sued Myers, alleging he violated the Home Improvement Contractor Act by illegally engaging in home improvement work on a suspended license, failing to perform agreed-upon work or apply for required building permits, requesting excessive cash advances, and failing and refusing to refund homeowners? payments for work not performed. ?In February 2011, a final judgment was entered against Myers, requiring him to pay more than $291,000 in consumer restitution, $300,000 in civil penalties and more than $125,000 in fees, and permanently enjoining him from soliciting or engaging in home improvement contracting work in the Commonwealth.? The Maine Attorney General?s Office has been contacted by a local law enforcement agency in Cumberland County to report they have received a complaint about Mr. Myers? business activities. He could be operating elsewhere in the state and under other business names. ?Consumers should be wary of doing business with this person,? said Attorney General Mills. ?His track record in other states is poor. He has been ordered by a court in another state to stop engaging in the home contracting and repair business. Maine homeowners should be on guard against hiring him to do work for them.? Anyone who has questions about dealing with home repair contractors is encouraged to contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Maine Attorney General?s Office. If you have questions about these or other consumer matters, please contact the Consumer Protection Division of the Attorney General?s Office, free of charge, at 1(800) 436-2131 or consumer.mediation@maine.gov. More information is available on the Consumer Division?s website: www.maine.gov/ag/consumer .
