Subcontractor ghosted me after a $7,500 deposit, then my lawyer found his old LLC

Last spring I hired a framing crew for a small warehouse build near Tulsa. Paid $7,500 up front because he said he needed materials. Two weeks later, no calls, no crew, no refund. My lawyer ran his name and found he had dissolved a previous LLC with the same exact pattern, three other contractors filed claims against it. I got my money back eventually, but it took 8 months and $1,200 in legal fees. Has anyone else dealt with a contractor hiding behind a new LLC to dodge past judgments?

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laura_black18d ago

And people say crime doesn't pay. Sounds like this guy figured out the cheat code, just dissolve the LLC and start over with a fresh name, rinse and repeat. I bet he has a folder on his computer labeled "new business names" like it's a game of The Sims. The wild part is they always do this to the small jobs too, like he couldn't have just scammed someone for $50,000 instead of nickel and diming us. Glad you got your money back but man, $1,200 in lawyer fees just to fight a ghost is its own kind of insult. At least your lawyer did the homework, most folks would have just eaten the loss and moved on.