Attorney General Peter Heed announced today that Roland White and SDI General Contracting, Inc., White’s home contracting business, were sentenced on 14 felony theft and conspiracy to commit theft indictments out of Merrimack County, with Amy Paquette as the named co-conspirator.

The Merrimack County Superior Court sentenced White to 2 ½ - 5 years at the New Hampshire State Prison, with a consecutive, suspended sentence of 7 ½-15 years, and restitution. His sentence includes a condition that the restitution shall not be dischargeable in the event he files bankruptcy and a condition prohibiting him from operating a home contracting business in the State of New Hampshire for a period of 10 years.

On October 14, 2003 Roland White pled guilty to these charges, on behalf of both himself and the corporation, admitting 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.

In addition, Roland White also pled guilty to, and was sentenced on, 4 additional felony Conspiracy to Commit Theft charges out of Hillsborough County, with Amy Paquette as the named co-conspirator. The indictments pled to by White charge that he and Paquette conspired to commit theft from Citizens Bank, and that Paquette presented checks to the bank, which were signed by White or stamped with his signature. After Paquette had obtained thousands of dollars in cash from the bank, the checks were returned marked either “Return to Maker” or “Account Closed”.

Attorney General Heed cautions consumers against seemingly legitimate companies which ask for substantial deposits prior to the commencement of any work. “The State of New Hampshire will not tolerate individuals or businesses which commit crimes while claiming to be legitimate. Anyone who attempts to cheat New Hampshire consumers will have to face the consequences.”

Felony charges against Amy Paquette remain pending as does a civil case against Roland White.