Minnesota Remodeler Is Banned for Life After Demolishing Rooms and Skipping Out

A Minnesota contractor promised homeowners he could transform their properties with extensive renovations. Instead, many say they were left with unfinished work, empty bank accounts and little to show for the tens of thousands of dollars they had handed over.Now, Ryan David Pietron, and his company, Affordable Home Remodeling, LLC., have been permanently banned from Minnesota's residential construction industry and ordered to pay more than $1 million after a state investigation found they had defrauded dozens of homeowners out of a combined $518,000, according to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office."Pietron would perform token demolition work, or none at all, before disappearing with his customers’ money," the AG's office said in a statement.On Nov. 5, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced a judgment against Pietron and the company, requiring them to pay $518,000 in restitution to victims, another $518,000 in civil penalties to the state and $33,000 to cover the attorney general's costs and legal fees.“Pietron played fast and loose with people’s home renovation dreams and needs,” Ellison said. “He counted on people giving up and moving on. Instead, Minnesotans repo...