The terrible experience we had as a result of hiring Brian Darnell of Prodigy Restoration Group (aka Darnell Group, aka Darnell Construction, aka Design Build St. Louis, aka Brian Darnell LLC) to install a pair of doors and a window and replace the roof on our house saw the crooked contractor engage in a multitude of unethical acts.
It seemed as if every interaction we had with this general contractor produced more outrageous behavior on his part. The contracts that we had for the repair work were separate, there was a contract for the window and door replacement, and there was another for the roofing repair.
Darnell had received payment in full for the window and door work up front, parts and labor had been paid for all at once with a check for $4,326, all that remained was for Brian Darnell to hold up his end of the contract.
On the separate roofing contract we had paid Brian Darnell $5,000 up front not realizing that he was in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. In total we had paid just under $10,000 to an individual who at the time was years into a personal bankruptcy and had actually lost bankruptcy protection at one point for failing to make mandatory bankruptcy payments.
We had a lot of money riding on Brian Darnell’s trustworthiness, and that was a BIG mistake. After paying Darnell the $5,000 he demanded to be paid even more for the roofing job, stating that he would not do either job until he was paid more. This effort to commit extortion did not sit well with us but Darnell was unwilling to compromise, “pay up” was all we got from him.
We looked into the situation and relaized Brian Darnell was committing theft. Not only was it theft, but the dollar amount involved raised the theft to the level of a felony offense. We contacted the police.
Very quickly an Officer from the St. Charles County Police Department was dispatched to our house to investigate the matter and obtain evidence. The Officer’s assessment was that the situation called for an arrest warrant and the approving officer within the St Charles County Police agreed, submitting a Warrant Application to the St. Charles County Prosecutors office.
We were advised by the Prosecutors Office that resolution through the Civil Courts, rather than Criminal Courts, would be faster and be more likely to resolve the matter favorably for us. The path through the Civil Courts is the one we travelled, but it would not be the last time that the St. Charles County Police were looking to bring in Brian Darnell.
If you find yourself the victim of a crooked contractor, consider contacting your local Law Enforcement officers. In St. Charles County Missouri a contractor who takes your money and fails to perform any work or deliver any goods is committing theft – the police in your area will be able to advise you if the Criminal Justice System is able to help you with your crooked contractor situation.