The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office has filed a consumer fraud lawsuit against a Chicago plumbing company and its owners for violations of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act for accepting payment for water main services from a south suburban senior citizen living on a fixed income and then failing to perform any of the promised repairs, according to the Office of State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez.

Named in the lawsuit, which was filed yesterday, are Samuel Pugh and Gerald F. Grogan, the owner/operators of Aaron’s Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration, Inc. with offices at 9200 S. Ashland in Chicago.  The lawsuit alleges the company failed to commence plumbing work and failed to refund $2,500 to the victim after receiving a written demand by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants extensively advertised their business in print, online directories and on “YouTube”. Their advertising claimed that they were licensed and bonded but the ads displayed a license number that was not issued to the defendants. 

Grogan had previously been hired by the victim to repair her water line. She could only afford for Grogan to make partial repairs when she originally hired him as she is a retired widow living on a fixed income. In December of 2010, the water line sprung another leak, causing water to seep up into the middle of her front lawn. When she contacted Grogan for repairs he told her that his partner, Pugh, had changed company policy so that he could accept only cash payments.  With Grogan following her, the victim drove to her bank, where and obtained a $2,500 cash advance on her credit card.

After taking the payment, Grogan never started the work as promised. At first he repeatedly claimed that the person he needed to see at the Markham Building Department for the permits was not in the office. He continued ignoring the victim’s repeated calls for service or for a refund eventually forcing her to hire another plumbing company to repair her water line.

The defendants are alleged to have violated numerous consumer protection laws by repeatedly failing to disclose the consumer’s rights to cancel the contract, failing to provide a “Know Your

Consumer Rights” home repair pamphlet to the customer with an acknowledgement form for her signature, and operating a home repair business under a name other than their registered corporate name.

The lawsuit seeks a permanent injunction against the defendants from engaging in fraudulent and unlawful business practices in Illinois, a revocation of their plumbing licenses, a refund for the customer and civil penalties of up to $50,000.

Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez would like to remind consumers to be on guard against unscrupulous contractors. Before hiring a contractor, request local references, verify that the contractor is properly licensed, and check the Better Business Bureau website at www.bbb.org for a reliability report.

Cook County residents who have home repair fraud complaints are urged to call the Consumer Fraud Unit of the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, at the Consumer Fraud Hotline: (312) 603-8700.  The Consumer Fraud Unit may be able to help you recover your losses and prevent other members of the public from falling victim to the same scheme.