KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City roofing company that already owes customers thousands of dollars is now facing more complaints.
There are brand new roofs on the buildings at the Devling Place Apartments and Townhomes complex in Kansas City.
It was far from easy.
Devling owner Tim Elliott hired Jason Stewart's company Apex Roofing after hail damaged his buildings.
The contract called for Stewart to replace the roofs on all 27 buildings in the complex, including the office building.
"He did some of our buildings and then he just stopped," said McKayla Lopez, Devling Place Property Manager.
When asked if Stewart gave any reason for stopping work, Lopez said, "No I don't believe so."
In a complaint filed last month with Missouri's attorney general, Elliott claims "only 12 of the roofs were completed and no workers were on site. No one ever returned to finish the job."
Lopez also said Stewart left hazardous, torn-down roofing materials at the complex site when he stopped work.
Elliott's complaint further claims despite the incomplete job, Stewart was able to pocket most or all of the $238,000 in insurance money.
Reached by phone, Stewart claims most of that money went to materials and subcontractors but was unable to give a complete accounting of it, including how much money he took.
JPA Construction and Roofing's Carlos Rodriguez, a subcontractor on the Devling Place job, said Stewart owes his company about $25,000 for work on the apartment complex and four homes.
Stewart denies that claim and sent us a copy of a money order for $8,900 to the company.
Rodriguez said that money is only partial payment for what's still owed to his company.
The new complaints against Stewart are part of a growing list.
In March 2017, the 41 Action News Investigators first reported about a complaint Lee's Summit homeowner Ralph Sytkowski filed against Stewart.
Sytkowski claims he paid Stewart $8,000 of insurance money to install a new roof, but he never did.
Sytkowski won a court judgment against Stewart for more than $9,000, which includes attorney's fees.
Then in May 2017, Gina Smeja told the 41 Action News Investigators she paid Stewart $4,500 to install a new roof on her home, but he never did it.
After the 41 Action News Investigators spoke to Smeja, Stewart returned her money but didn't install her roof as promised.
Then in October 2017, the 41 Action News Investigators reported Stewart was ordered to pay two Johnson County, Kansas customers more than $22,000 for roofing jobs he never did.
Stewart was also banned from doing business in Kansas and didn't have the proper license to do work in the state.
Stewart said he's made mistakes and was in over his head. He said his business started spiraling out of control after the death of his father.
Stewart admits to owing more than $60,000 to dissatisfied customers.
They include Elliott who Stewart said he owes $50,000.
In his complaint, Elliott claims he had to pay about $75,000 out of his own pocket to have the roofing jobs at Devling Place finished.
He contracted with JPA to finish the work and said that company did a good job.
Stewart also admitted to owing Sytkowski more than $9,000 to satisfy the court order against him.
He claims he's working to return that money.
But so far, he hasn't done it.
A Colorado-based company called Genesis Capital Ventures was hired to manage the $238,000 in insurance money for the Devling Place roofing job money.
The company is now called Genesis Contractor Solutions.
Elliott writes in his AG complaint, "When work stopped I called Genesis Capital and found out
they had disbursed that entire amount to Jason with less than half the job done. Then I began getting
lien notices because the subcontractors had not been paid. I suspect collusion between Apex and Genesis Capital."
Calls and messages to Genesis's Operations Vice-president Ben LeBlanc so far have not been returned.
