Attorney General Peter Heed announced today that Roland White, a home contractor, pled guilty to 14 felony theft and conspiracy to commit theft indictments, (with Amy Paquette as the named co-conspirator) on behalf of himself individually and on behalf of the company of which he is the President, SDI General Contracting, Inc. By pleading guilty, Roland White admitted that he and SDI General Contracting, Inc. exercised unauthorized control over deposits it had obtained from consumers, by failing to refund the deposits when the consumers had cancelled an agreement to have SDI provide home contracting services. Although White would tell the consumers that he would refund their deposits, he failed to do so, even though he had performed none of the agreed upon services.

The Attorney General’s investigation into Roland White, Amy Paquette and their business practices began when numerous complaints were received by the Consumer Protection Bureau from consumers alleging that White and/or Paquette extracted deposits in advance of performing home contracting services and then failed to perform the services; failed to complete the performance of agreed upon services or did so in an unworkmanlike manner; failed to pay subcontractors, resulting in a lien being placed on a consumer’s home; and disconnected their business telephone numbers and moved to another business location without notifying consumers.

Typically, Roland White or one of his representatives would meet with a potential customer who wanted to have contracting services performed on his or her home. In some instances, when the work was not performed in a timely manner, the consumer would cancel the agreement and ask for a refund of his or her deposit. White would agree to refund the consumer’s deposit, but would then fail to do so. In other instances, the agreement between the consumer and White and/or Paquette would be contingent on a certain event occurring, such as the consumer securing financing. When the contingent event did not occur and the consumer asked for a refund of his or her deposit, White would fail to refund the monies to the consumer.

White has operated his businesses from Manchester, Bedford and Concord, and has used the following business names: R.W. White Enterprises, SDI, SDI Corporations, SDI General Contracting, Inc., Statewide Drilling, Inc. and ARW Contracting.

Attorney General Heed cautions consumers against companies which commit crimes under the guise of a legitimate business. “Individuals and businesses which commit the crime of theft pursuant to the operation of their businesses will be held accountable for their crimes and will be aggressively prosecuted by our office.”

Roland White and SDI General Contracting, Inc. will be sentenced in the Merrimack County Superior Court on November 10, 2003 to 2 ½-5 years at the New Hampshire State Prison.

Felony charges against Amy Paquette remain pending.

222003