Local companies named BBB ‘Bad Boys’

LOUISVILLE — The Better Business Bureau’s regional office named three Southern Indiana companies to its list of 15 so-called “Bad Boys.”

Reanna Smith-Hamblin, the bureau’s vice president of communications, said the list is a computer-generated compilation of businesses with the most unanswered and unresolved complaints in 2011, plus a few businesses with extraordinarily serious complaints.

Smith-Hamblin said their office — which serves Louisville, Southern Indiana and Western Kentucky — notifies a business via email or letter when it receives a complaint.

They will attempt to make contact twice, but if they receive no response within about 30 days, the case is closed and the complaint is classified as unanswered.

“It’s important to respond, and most legit companies will,” Smith-Hamblin said.

The following businesses all have F ratings with the bureau.

Alpine Chimney and Roofing

Michael Osborne, 46, of Borden, has already been convicted of home improvement fraud, but some consumers say that has not stopped him from taking advantage of others.

Sonja Mundy told the News and Tribune in January 2010 that Osborne had scammed her and her 87-year-old mother.

The roof of Mundy’s Jeffersonville home was damaged in October 2008 by the remnants of Hurricane Ike. She contacted Alpine Chimney and Roofing to do the repairs but said she was left with a leaky roof.

Mundy said she tried for nearly a year to get Osborne to fix the problems before hiring another company. In October 2009, Mundy learned her mother had hired a company called Affordable Chimney and Roofing to repair her chimney.

According to court records, Osborne attempted to charge the 87-year-old $8,200 for a job that had a fair-market value of $1,400.

Osborne was arrested Jan. 22, 2010, and charged in Clark County with home improvement fraud and attempted home improvement fraud. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced Dec. 7, 2010, to three years probation and was ordered to pay $7,100 in restitution to two victims.

The Better Business Bureau is still receiving complaints about the company — which may also operate under the names All Pro, Astro, All in One and Custom Chimney and Roofing. They had nine complaints last year and 22 in the last three years. More have been filed this month.

The allegations are that Osborne doubles charges when he finds “additional repairs” and does not always finish the job or does shoddy work. A Jeffersonville address listed for the company does not appear to be valid.

Osborne, who has several outstanding warrants in Clark County, was arrested Jan. 14 in Racine County, Wisc., on charges of retail theft, resisting an officer and bail jumping.

Clark County Sheriff’s Department Detective Tim Franklin said Osborne will be extradited to Jeffersonville when his case is finished in Wisconsin. He is aware of home improvement fraud complaints in Jeffersonville and throughout the Louisville area.

“It’s unknown how many victims are out there,” Franklin said. “It’s a mess.”

The Clark County Prosecutor’s Office has twice filed requests to revoke Osborne’s probation for home improvement fraud. He is accused of not making an effort to pay restitution and not meeting with probation officers.

He is also charged with three counts of class D felony failure to register. Osborne was convicted in Michigan in 1998 of sexual conduct involving an underage female family member, and he was required to register as a sex offender for life.

Following his arrest in September for failure to register, Osborne provided police with a new address. Osborne was released Oct. 25, and Franklin went to check on him at the address he provided.

Franklin said the owner of the property signed an affidavit that Osborne had never lived there.

While the investigation is ongoing, the prosecutor’s office wants to keep him in prison. They plan to file a habitual offender enhancement.

“Our office will make every effort to have his probation revoked and have him sent to prison,” Clark County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said.

Paraklese Technologies, LLC

John Gelm, 72, of Waynesburg, Pa., is an avid hunter and shooter. He was browsing the Internet in late 2010 when he came across a firearms-accessories retailer at www.paraklesetechnologies.com.

“They had some ammunition that looked better than what is commercially available at firearms stores,” he said.

He ordered about $35 in ammunition through his credit card but had received no confirmation of shipment after a week. He emailed the company’s contact, R. David Fosnight, and was told they were having problems with their supplier. After three months of trying to contact Fosnight again, he received a refund through his credit card.

Gelm gave them another chance in May ordering more ammunition, but he had a similar experience. Gelm said Forsythe told him some employees had quit.

“Every time you talk to these people, you get a different excuse,” he said.

The website does not include a physical address for Paraklese, but they use a P.O. Box in Georgetown. Fosnight posted online in 2009 that they are a federally licensed ammunition manufacturer based in Southern Indiana. He claims to make ammunition for law enforcement and military.

According to business records, the company is owned by Kim Fosnight and run by Ronald David Fosnight, of Clarksville. Their home phone has been disconnected, and messages left at the phone number and email addresses provided on their website were not returned.

The BBB has 10 closed complaints for the company, nine within the last year. That is consistent with reviews posted at www.gunbroker.com. Paraklese has more than 350 reviews, mostly positive until 2011 when dozens of people reporting not receiving the merchandise they ordered.

Lawson Special Pet Transportation

John and Ann Juhala moved in August from Warren, Mich., for a new job.

Through the online service uShip, they arranged for Blue Grass Transport to drive their 8-year-old pug, Igor, to their new home in Louisiana for $75.

Igor was picked up July 26 with expected delivery Aug. 4. The company’s owner Roburt Lawson called them Aug. 4 and said he would be a couple days late. He never arrived.

John Juhala said they sent emails to Lawson and repeatedly called him, but his voicemail was full. Juhala said Lawson did not contact them until Aug. 22 after television stations aired their story and law enforcement began investigating.

“He said he had a flat tire, got distracted. He gave a whole list of excuses,” Juhala said.

Lawson told Juhala he would deliver the dog the next day at 4 p.m. After calling several times Aug. 23 to say he had been delayed, Lawson told them at 10:50 p.m. that he had lost their dog.

According to Juhala, Lawson claimed he pulled over at a rest stop at 6 p.m. in a swampy area of Louisiana, and the pug ran off into the woods.

Juhala said Igor had been in a harness with a collar, yet they only found a collar at the spot where the dog was supposedly lost. Lawson did not offer to refund the money.

Juhala believes his dog died during transport. He has talked to several people across the country who told him their pets arrived malnourished or covered in sores.

Lawson had operated Lawson Special Pet Transportation in Pekin, but according to neighbors, he was evicted in January 2011 and his uShip account was suspended due to complaints. He registered as Blue Grass Pet Transport in Dry Ridge, Ky.

He is also associated with the K Nine Angels Dog Breeders in Pekin, which no longer has a valid phone number.

It is unknown where Lawson is staying. Attempts to reach him in Dry Ridge were not successful. Juhala said he regularly monitors the Internet to make sure Lawson does not show up under a different name.

“I’m not the first he’s done this to, but I’ve made it my mission that I’m his last,” Juhala said. “Is he still transporting? I don’t know. He’s a nomad.”

The Louisiana Attorney General’s Office is investigating.

Advice from the BBB

Smith-Hamblin said consumers should always do their research. Check out companies through the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org or Attorney General’s Office.

She said consumers can also ask for references. When ordering merchandise, pay with a credit card to dispute any charges if the product does not arrive and be careful of free trial offers.

In the case of home repair, Smith-Hamblin said to request bids from multiple companies.

“Don’t go with the first person to come to your door. Always know who you’re dealing with,” she said.

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