Attorney General Orders Montgomery County
Home Builder To Pay Restitution

Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has issued an order requiring a Montgomery County home builder to pay restitution and damages totaling $673,854.62 to six consumers, $122,000 in penalties and $7,925.25 in costs. The builder, Sharon Dujon, doing business as Dujon Home Concepts, formerly operated from her home in Silver Spring, Maryland, and from an office located at 7826 Eastern Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., which is now closed. Ms. Dujon contracted to build, but either never commenced or failed to complete, at least six homes that were to be built in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties.

The Division found that Ms. Dujon violated the Home Builder Registration Act when she fraudulently obtained her home builder registration by failing to disclose to the Consumer Protection Division prior bankruptcies and judgments that had been entered against her. The Division found that Ms. Dujon further violated the Home Builder Registration Act, and also the Consumer Protection Act, Custom Home Protection Act and New Home Deposits Act by engaging in poor workmanship; accepting payments from consumers and failing to build their homes; failing to escrow or otherwise protect consumers’ deposits and other payments; and failing to include required disclosures and certifications in her building contracts.

The order bars Ms. Dujon from acting as a home builder in Maryland again unless she becomes properly registered with the Division’s Home Builder Registration Unit, provides the Division with a $400,000 surety bond to protect consumers, and complies with Maryland law. The order also requires Ms. Dujon to identify any other consumers with whom she did business and to pay restitution to the Division equal to any payments she may have accepted from consumers for work she did not perform.

“The decision to build a new home is a huge investment - both financially and emotionally,” said Attorney General Gansler. “My office will not tolerate home builders who take consumers’ money and do not provide the services for which they were paid. Home builders must follow the law or face the consequences.”

Consumers can check whether their builder is registered and how the builder is protecting their deposits by contacting the Home Builder Registration Unit at (410) 576-6573 in Baltimore or toll free at (877) 259-4525, or by checking the Attorney General’s Website at www.oag.state.md.us/homebuilder.