A North Oaks man is accused of swindling a client out of nearly $10,000 by charging them for a bathroom remodel that he never completed.
Two residents in St. Paul told an investigator that they found Kevin Donald Johnson’s company, Chief Concepts LLC, on the home improvement web site Home Advisor and asked if he’d be interested in remodeling their bathroom at their home on Howell Street in St. Paul, according to charges filed in Ramsey County District Court this week.
Johnson visited their house early last October and told the residents he was very familiar with the area as he recently flipped a house nearby and bid the job at $19,800, saying he wanted half of the total, or $9,900, up front, the criminal complaint said.
The residents agreed to the price, and wrote him a check for the amount Oct. 7, which Johnson reportedly promptly cashed the next day, according to the complaint.
That’s when communication with Johnson went dark, according to the complaint.
They residents repeatedly called and texted Johnson, but didn’t hear back from in until two months later, according to the charges.
Johnson finally returned one of their calls Dec. 8 and told them his work had been delayed because one of his employees had passed away and his father was hospitalized, promising to start the work the following week, the complaint said. When he didn’t show, the residents went to his business and demanded a refund.
Johnson said he didn’t have the money to return them, according to the charges, and the residents contacted police.
Johnson told the investigator who subsequently contacted him that he intended to do the work at the residents’ home but that the residents had left him a threatening message so his attorney had advised him to let police work it out, the complaint said.
When the investigator followed up more than a month and a half later, Johnson said he was filing for bankruptcy and that he didn’t have the money to finish projects he took money to do, including the St. Paul residents’ bathroom remodel, the complaint said.
He reportedly said he used the money for other things.
The investigator contacted the Better Business Bureau and learned that Johson had several complaints filed against him.
His contractor license was subsequently revoked Jan. 27.
The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office charged him with one count of theft by swindle, a felony.
Johnson could not be reached for comment and no attorney was listed for him in court records.
He has no criminal record in Minnesota.