|
|
|
As of now, Marilyn and Robin Brown can’t really say how much longer it will be until they’re able to move into the home they’re attempting to build on the eastern outskirts of Greensburg to replace what they lost in last May’s F5 tornado.
Their new house was to have been finished by the first of October, according to the terms of a contract the couple signed with Oklahoma City General Contractor Alfred Soulek last July 7—a contract calling for a total of $197,000 to finish the job.
After paying Soulek, however, nearly all of that amount—$181,000 to be exact—in several installments, the Brown’s have a house only 25 percent completed and have not seen Soulek since October 3, the last time he showed up on site to ask for yet another advance on the $197,000. This time Marilyn Brown told him no more funds until the job’s completion.
Matter of trust and family…
But why hadn’t the Brown’s taken that position earlier? It was, it seems, a matter of trust and family.
Soulek was made known to the couple by Marilyn’s mother, Karen Richmond, of Oklahoma City suburb Yukon, who happens to attend the same church as Soulek. Marilyn Brown recalled in a recent television interview that Soulek told her and Robin “we were family” shortly after meeting. The Brown’s trusted Soulek implicitly at that point.
The familial relationship began coming under stress, however, not long after the Brown’s paid Soulek a $21,000 down payment when signing the contract last July.
Soulek asked for another advance of cash the next month in order to pay for materials to construct the Brown’s front porch, and hire a subcontractor to put up a roof—money he received.
Soulek then proceeded to stop payment on the check he wrote the subcontractor the day after writing it, according to the local attorney recently retained by the Brown’s—Kevin Stephenson.
It wasn’t long after that the check Soulek wrote to local business Fisher Lumber for the materials bounced. Fisher is “still trying to collect on those funds” according to Stephenson.
Marilyn Brown remembers having an uneasy feeling about the contract signed with Soulek when she and Robin began hearing of “checks bouncing.”
Red flags appear…
Kiowa County Sheriff Galen Marble told The Signal last Friday that his department had run a check on Soulek’s Oklahoma City-based business—AAA Renovations—shortly after his arrival in Greensburg, just as they have done with other contractors showing an interest in doing business in town.
Marble said his department uncovered “some red flags” concerning Soulek’s past business dealings in Oklahoma. Though one of his officers warned the Brown’s of their contractor’s questionable past, it was too late by then, the construction contract having already been signed, and a considerable amount of money having already been handed over to Soulek.
Soulek’s name first began appearing in Oklahoma City news accounts last January when television station KFOR ran a consumer protection segment featuring an Enid couple accusing the contractor of having taken nearly $20,000 to remodel their home without finishing the work.
The report apparently encouraged other homeowners dissatisfied with Soulek’s work to speak out with similar accounts.
Soulek’s troubles deepen…
It wasn’t long after that the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office filed six counts of home repair fraud against Soulek. Though he was also arrested for having written bad checks in Oklahoma, that charge didn’t stick.
The Oklahoma AG later agreed to drop the six home repair fraud counts against Soulek if he agreed to avoid such future problems and made restitution to his victims. Now that Soulek is being investigated by the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Kansas Attorney General’s office for his alleged missteps in this state, Soulek’s deal with Oklahoma is off, in view of him having apparently violated those terms.
Marble said his office is investigating the particulars of Soulek having allegedly written the hot check to Fisher Lumber, as well as his dealings with the Brown’s. He said it’s possible his investigation could reveal enough evidence to warrant a charge of “theft by deception” in regard to what Stephenson terms a breach of contract by Soulek of the signed agreement he had with the Greensburg couple. Either charge would be a felony, according to Marble.
Construction crawls along…
The Brown’s, meanwhile, continue to live in their FEMA mobile home, a few steps from the unfinished frame of the home they’d expected to be occupying by now. Work is progressing slowly, Robin’s brother Ray having driven out from Colorado last week to put in several long days finishing as much of the wiring as possible.
A Jetmore plumber, Duane Pember, has also continued putting in time, doing “for now what he can without pay,” according to Marilyn Brown. “Al still owes him money, but he’s stayed by our side.”
Federal lawsuit likely…
The Brown’s, however, remain out a sizeable amount of money, at least a portion of which they seek to recover in federal court, where their attorney says a decision will be made by year’s end as to whether to file a civil suit against the contractor.
The fact Soulek has now come under investigation in a neighboring state raises the factor of “diversity of jurisdiction” according to Stephenson, which means the suit would be easier to pursue federally if and when charges are filed in Kansas.
The fact that some of the money the Brown’s gave Soulek were disaster recovery funds from the federal government also makes a federal filing more likely.
“Pretty high,” was how Stephenson characterized the odds he would file soon in federal court on behalf of the Brown’s.
But even that action, if successful, will bring no quick remedy to their difficulties.
“We’d have to be able to get a judgment against him (Soulek) and attach his assets to get some of their (Brown’s) money back,” Stephenson said. “And you’re probably looking at two years to get to that point. Even then, it’s going to be tough to get any of that money back unless he has some assets we can go after.
“In the meantime they’re out their money and don’t have a house to live in.”
Karen Richmond, meanwhile, likely regrets having ever met Soulek, much less having introduced him to her daughter and son-in-law.
“Mom’s just sick about this,” Marilyn Brown said last Thursday. “Her knowing him from church was the only reason we signed with him.”
Apparently, it wasn’t reason enough.
As of now, Marilyn and Robin Brown can’t really say how much longer it will be until they’re able to move into the home they’re attempting to build on the eastern outskirts of Greensburg to replace what they lost in last May’s F5 tornado.
Their new house was to have been finished by the first of October, according to the terms of a contract the couple signed with Oklahoma City General Contractor Alfred Soulek last July 7—a contract calling for a total of $197,000 to finish the job.
After paying Soulek, however, nearly all of that amount—$181,000 to be exact—in several installments, the Brown’s have a house only 25 percent completed and have not seen Soulek since October 3, the last time he showed up on site to ask for yet another advance on the $197,000. This time Marilyn Brown told him no more funds until the job’s completion.
Matter of trust and family…
But why hadn’t the Brown’s taken that position earlier? It was, it seems, a matter of trust and family.
Soulek was made known to the couple by Marilyn’s mother, Karen Richmond, of Oklahoma City suburb Yukon, who happens to attend the same church as Soulek. Marilyn Brown recalled in a recent television interview that Soulek told her and Robin “we were family” shortly after meeting. The Brown’s trusted Soulek implicitly at that point.
The familial relationship began coming under stress, however, not long after the Brown’s paid Soulek a $21,000 down payment when signing the contract last July.
Soulek asked for another advance of cash the next month in order to pay for materials to construct the Brown’s front porch, and hire a subcontractor to put up a roof—money he received.
Soulek then proceeded to stop payment on the check he wrote the subcontractor the day after writing it, according to the local attorney recently retained by the Brown’s—Kevin Stephenson.
It wasn’t long after that the check Soulek wrote to local business Fisher Lumber for the materials bounced. Fisher is “still trying to collect on those funds” according to Stephenson.
Marilyn Brown remembers having an uneasy feeling about the contract signed with Soulek when she and Robin began hearing of “checks bouncing.”
Red flags appear…
Kiowa County Sheriff Galen Marble told The Signal last Friday that his department had run a check on Soulek’s Oklahoma City-based business—AAA Renovations—shortly after his arrival in Greensburg, just as they have done with other contractors showing an interest in doing business in town.
Marble said his department uncovered “some red flags” concerning Soulek’s past business dealings in Oklahoma. Though one of his officers warned the Brown’s of their contractor’s questionable past, it was too late by then, the construction contract having already been signed, and a considerable amount of money having already been handed over to Soulek.
Soulek’s name first began appearing in Oklahoma City news accounts last January when television station KFOR ran a consumer protection segment featuring an Enid couple accusing the contractor of having taken nearly $20,000 to remodel their home without finishing the work.
The report apparently encouraged other homeowners dissatisfied with Soulek’s work to speak out with similar accounts.
Soulek’s troubles deepen…
It wasn’t long after that the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office filed six counts of home repair fraud against Soulek. Though he was also arrested for having written bad checks in Oklahoma, that charge didn’t stick.
The Oklahoma AG later agreed to drop the six home repair fraud counts against Soulek if he agreed to avoid such future problems and made restitution to his victims. Now that Soulek is being investigated by the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Kansas Attorney General’s office for his alleged missteps in this state, Soulek’s deal with Oklahoma is off, in view of him having apparently violated those terms.
Marble said his office is investigating the particulars of Soulek having allegedly written the hot check to Fisher Lumber, as well as his dealings with the Brown’s. He said it’s possible his investigation could reveal enough evidence to warrant a charge of “theft by deception” in regard to what Stephenson terms a breach of contract by Soulek of the signed agreement he had with the Greensburg couple. Either charge would be a felony, according to Marble.
Construction crawls along…
The Brown’s, meanwhile, continue to live in their FEMA mobile home, a few steps from the unfinished frame of the home they’d expected to be occupying by now. Work is progressing slowly, Robin’s brother Ray having driven out from Colorado last week to put in several long days finishing as much of the wiring as possible.
A Jetmore plumber, Duane Pember, has also continued putting in time, doing “for now what he can without pay,” according to Marilyn Brown. “Al still owes him money, but he’s stayed by our side.”
Federal lawsuit likely…
The Brown’s, however, remain out a sizeable amount of money, at least a portion of which they seek to recover in federal court, where their attorney says a decision will be made by year’s end as to whether to file a civil suit against the contractor.
The fact Soulek has now come under investigation in a neighboring state raises the factor of “diversity of jurisdiction” according to Stephenson, which means the suit would be easier to pursue federally if and when charges are filed in Kansas.
The fact that some of the money the Brown’s gave Soulek were disaster recovery funds from the federal government also makes a federal filing more likely.
“Pretty high,” was how Stephenson characterized the odds he would file soon in federal court on behalf of the Brown’s.
But even that action, if successful, will bring no quick remedy to their difficulties.
“We’d have to be able to get a judgment against him (Soulek) and attach his assets to get some of their (Brown’s) money back,” Stephenson said. “And you’re probably looking at two years to get to that point. Even then, it’s going to be tough to get any of that money back unless he has some assets we can go after.
“In the meantime they’re out their money and don’t have a house to live in.”
Karen Richmond, meanwhile, likely regrets having ever met Soulek, much less having introduced him to her daughter and son-in-law.
“Mom’s just sick about this,” Marilyn Brown said last Thursday. “Her knowing him from church was the only reason we signed with him.”
Apparently, it wasn’t reason enough.
Their new house was to have been finished by the first of October, according to the terms of a contract the couple signed with Oklahoma City General Contractor Alfred Soulek last July 7—a contract calling for a total of $197,000 to finish the job.
After paying Soulek, however, nearly all of that amount—$181,000 to be exact—in several installments, the Brown’s have a house only 25 percent completed and have not seen Soulek since October 3, the last time he showed up on site to ask for yet another advance on the $197,000. This time Marilyn Brown told him no more funds until the job’s completion.
Matter of trust and family…
But why hadn’t the Brown’s taken that position earlier? It was, it seems, a matter of trust and family.
Soulek was made known to the couple by Marilyn’s mother, Karen Richmond, of Oklahoma City suburb Yukon, who happens to attend the same church as Soulek. Marilyn Brown recalled in a recent television interview that Soulek told her and Robin “we were family” shortly after meeting. The Brown’s trusted Soulek implicitly at that point.
The familial relationship began coming under stress, however, not long after the Brown’s paid Soulek a $21,000 down payment when signing the contract last July.
Soulek asked for another advance of cash the next month in order to pay for materials to construct the Brown’s front porch, and hire a subcontractor to put up a roof—money he received.
Soulek then proceeded to stop payment on the check he wrote the subcontractor the day after writing it, according to the local attorney recently retained by the Brown’s—Kevin Stephenson.
It wasn’t long after that the check Soulek wrote to local business Fisher Lumber for the materials bounced. Fisher is “still trying to collect on those funds” according to Stephenson.
Marilyn Brown remembers having an uneasy feeling about the contract signed with Soulek when she and Robin began hearing of “checks bouncing.”
Red flags appear…
Kiowa County Sheriff Galen Marble told The Signal last Friday that his department had run a check on Soulek’s Oklahoma City-based business—AAA Renovations—shortly after his arrival in Greensburg, just as they have done with other contractors showing an interest in doing business in town.
Marble said his department uncovered “some red flags” concerning Soulek’s past business dealings in Oklahoma. Though one of his officers warned the Brown’s of their contractor’s questionable past, it was too late by then, the construction contract having already been signed, and a considerable amount of money having already been handed over to Soulek.
Soulek’s name first began appearing in Oklahoma City news accounts last January when television station KFOR ran a consumer protection segment featuring an Enid couple accusing the contractor of having taken nearly $20,000 to remodel their home without finishing the work.
The report apparently encouraged other homeowners dissatisfied with Soulek’s work to speak out with similar accounts.
Soulek’s troubles deepen…
It wasn’t long after that the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office filed six counts of home repair fraud against Soulek. Though he was also arrested for having written bad checks in Oklahoma, that charge didn’t stick.
The Oklahoma AG later agreed to drop the six home repair fraud counts against Soulek if he agreed to avoid such future problems and made restitution to his victims. Now that Soulek is being investigated by the Kiowa County Sheriff’s Department, as well as the Kansas Attorney General’s office for his alleged missteps in this state, Soulek’s deal with Oklahoma is off, in view of him having apparently violated those terms.
Marble said his office is investigating the particulars of Soulek having allegedly written the hot check to Fisher Lumber, as well as his dealings with the Brown’s. He said it’s possible his investigation could reveal enough evidence to warrant a charge of “theft by deception” in regard to what Stephenson terms a breach of contract by Soulek of the signed agreement he had with the Greensburg couple. Either charge would be a felony, according to Marble.
Construction crawls along…
The Brown’s, meanwhile, continue to live in their FEMA mobile home, a few steps from the unfinished frame of the home they’d expected to be occupying by now. Work is progressing slowly, Robin’s brother Ray having driven out from Colorado last week to put in several long days finishing as much of the wiring as possible.
A Jetmore plumber, Duane Pember, has also continued putting in time, doing “for now what he can without pay,” according to Marilyn Brown. “Al still owes him money, but he’s stayed by our side.”
Federal lawsuit likely…
The Brown’s, however, remain out a sizeable amount of money, at least a portion of which they seek to recover in federal court, where their attorney says a decision will be made by year’s end as to whether to file a civil suit against the contractor.
The fact Soulek has now come under investigation in a neighboring state raises the factor of “diversity of jurisdiction” according to Stephenson, which means the suit would be easier to pursue federally if and when charges are filed in Kansas.
The fact that some of the money the Brown’s gave Soulek were disaster recovery funds from the federal government also makes a federal filing more likely.
“Pretty high,” was how Stephenson characterized the odds he would file soon in federal court on behalf of the Brown’s.
But even that action, if successful, will bring no quick remedy to their difficulties.
“We’d have to be able to get a judgment against him (Soulek) and attach his assets to get some of their (Brown’s) money back,” Stephenson said. “And you’re probably looking at two years to get to that point. Even then, it’s going to be tough to get any of that money back unless he has some assets we can go after.
“In the meantime they’re out their money and don’t have a house to live in.”
Karen Richmond, meanwhile, likely regrets having ever met Soulek, much less having introduced him to her daughter and son-in-law.
“Mom’s just sick about this,” Marilyn Brown said last Thursday. “Her knowing him from church was the only reason we signed with him.”
Apparently, it wasn’t reason enough.
