Fake renovation updates and a forged supplier invoice helped Minnesota contractor Ryan David Pietron collect payments for work he never performed. He has been permanently banned from residential construction.
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office put the losses at $518,000 across dozens of families, costing homeowners money they had set aside for renovations.
Here's what to know
The contractor and his remodeling company must pay more than $1 million under a ruling secured by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, according to KIMT.
The judgment calls for $518,000 in civil penalties to the state and an equal amount in restitution for victims. It also awards $33,000 for the attorney general's legal fees and costs.
Some homeowners paid tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars after the contractor and his company used deceptive practices to secure costly renovation jobs. Ellison sued them over those practices in October 2025.
"So to anyone who's been ripped off by a contractor: don't stay quiet," Ellison said.
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More background
The contractor told customers he was licensed despite never having held a contractor's license. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry had already barred him from making that claim.
The contractor took homeowners' money and disappeared after doing little or no demolition work on the jobs they had hired him to complete.
In one instance, the contractor forged an invoice from a real supplier to make it appear that he had placed an order. He also persuaded homeowners to pay more by sending false updates about the work's progress.
Additionally, the contractor promised refunds to some victims who tracked him down, but he never returned the money.
What's being done?
The contractor has been permanently banned from residential construction. A separate criminal case involving some of the same conduct resulted in the same contractor pleading guilty to felony theft.
Ellison urged others defrauded by contractors to report their experiences and continue seeking accountability. He credited reports from Minnesotans with helping his office pursue the case.
"He counted on people giving up and moving on," Ellison said. "Instead, Minnesotans reported this scheme to my office, and now he's permanently out of this business and will pay for his fraud."
Where can I learn more?
Homeowners elsewhere have also lost renovation money to contractors who failed to do the work they promised.
• A Texas contractor who stole $300,000 from customers received 30 years in prison.
• Florida's attorney general sued a contractor accused of taking $1 million from 80 homeowners.
• In England, more than 30 customers paid nearly £500,000 in deposits, then reported work never materialized.
• A Florida cabinet business owner spent Hurricane Ian repair funds on crypto and received nearly six years in prison.
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