La Grange Park Business Owner Accused of Cheating Homeowners of $20,000

A lawsuit filed this week by Cook County's Consumer Fraud Unit alleges that a construction company and its owner cheated two homeowners of more than $20,000 for construction work that was never performed.

Lake Shore Construction.net Inc., which has offices in La Grange Park, and its owner, David Gerger, are named in the suit, which was filed on Wednesday. According to the lawsuit, Gerger and his company accepted $21,358.89 from two homeowners in Elmwood Park and Orland Park. The lawsuit also claims Gerger misled homeowners to believe that he was licensed to make the repairs.

Gerger operated his business out of two locations: one in La Grange Park and the other in Homer Glen. The lawsuit alleges that Gerger cheated the two victims by soliciting services in neighborhoods that had recently been hit by severe weather.

Gerger told homeowners that their roofs were in need of repair and that he could perform the required work. He also told homeowners that their homeowner's insurance policies would cover his costs and offered to negotiate their claims on their behalf.

Gerger would meet with company representatives when they came to assess the damage and then return once their claim had been approved to pick up the check they had received. The suite alleges that this would be the last time the victims would see Gerger, who never provided any construction materials, nor performed any work.

The lawsuit aims to keep Gerger and his company from engaging in further deceptive practices and added that refunds for the victims and a fine of $50,000 are also being sought.