Attorney General Gansler Orders Unlicensed Home Builder to Pay More Than $809,000 in Penalties

BALTIMORE, MD (May 23, 2008) - Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler announced today that his Consumer Protection Division has issued a final order requiring a home builder to pay penalties of $809,000 for building homes without registering with the Division’s Home Builder Registration Unit. The Division also found that the home builder, Leedom, Inc. t/a ModularHomeExpress.com Contracting Company, and its principal, John Seisman of Annapolis, violated Maryland’s Custom Home Protection Act and Consumer Protection Act by failing to place money paid by consumers into an escrow account or having a surety bond to cover the deposits and payments.

The Order bars Seisman and Leedom, Inc. t/a ModularHomeExpress.com Contracting Company from acting as a home builder in the State of Maryland until they become registered as a home builder under Maryland’s Home Builder Registration Act and requires the company and its owner to pay restitution of any money received from consumers harmed as a result of their activities as a builder.

“Consumers need to protect the biggest investment of their lifetime by ensuring that their homes, including modular and mobile homes, are being built or installed by a registered home builder and that any deposits they make are protected by an escrow account, bond or letter of credit,” said Attorney General Gansler.

Consumers can check whether their builder is registered and how the builder protects deposit money by contacting the Home Builder Registration Unit at (410) 576-6573 in Baltimore or toll free at (877) 259-4525, or by checking on the Attorney General’s website: www.oag.state.md.us/homebuilder. Consumers who believe they have been harmed by John Seisman and Leedom, Inc. t/a ModularHomeExpress.com Contracting Company in connection with the sale or installation of a new home should also contact the Home Builder Registration Unit. In making today’s announcement, Attorney General Gansler thanked Assistant Attorney General Jeston Hamer for his work on the case.