‘He should go to jail': Customers out thousands fume over contractor's bankruptcy

Becky Levesque returned from a business trip in April 2022 and discovered the deck at her Freetown, Massachusetts, home had been demolished.

“I was really confused,” Levesque recalled.

That’s because Levesque and her partner, Leo McDonough, had hired Larry Westgate of All Phases Renovations to reface the existing structure, not build a new deck from scratch.

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Other red flags quickly surfaced. Levesque said Westgate’s crew dug holes in the backyard without calling Dig Safe to mark utility lines.

The homeowner then found out the entire process had started without securing a permit from the town’s building department.

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With the deck missing, the sliding door opened to a dangerous drop to the concrete below. It stayed that way for the entire summer for the couple and their four kids, preventing them from using the backyard pool.

“It was a really unsafe situation,” Levesque said.

When the permit was eventually approved and work resumed six months later, the couple said Westgate wanted another check.

But Levesque said they refused because they had already paid $35,000, the majority of the total $45,000 project cost. And there was still plenty of work left to do.

Before paying more money, Levesque said she wanted the framing of the new deck to be finished.

“And he just said, ‘Well, I’m walking off the job.’ And he never came back after that,” Levesque said. “My first thought was that I had just lost a lot of money.”

Electrician Kevin Ponte can relate to being owed money by Westgate.

In 2021, Ponte said he completed a couple of jobs as a subcontractor for the business owner, but never got paid for the work.

“And since then, I’ve been chasing him,” Ponte said.

The electrician filed a small claims case against Westgate and won a judgment of about $4,700. Court records show there is currently a warrant in place to help collect the money.

Ponte said he is frustrated when he sees the new Fall River home Westgate purchased in 2020, or social media posts displaying his Bruins-themed man cave and vacations to places like Mexico and Miami.

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“A thief is what I think is going on,” Ponte said. “Contractors who are struggling are not out buying new things when they owe people money.”

Ponte and Levesque are part of a private Facebook group called, “Scammed by All Phases Renovations,” which has grown to more than 80 members since our original investigation was published in November.

Kelsey Janak, an Acushnet mom of three kids, started the group after posting about her struggle to get a $5,000 deposit returned for a front porch project that never started.

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When we caught up to Westgate last month after a civil court appearance in New Bedford, he downplayed the negative online momentum.

“I could make a post about channel 10 news and get 50 people overnight,” Westgate told us. “It’s not a big deal.”

It turned out the same day we had the exchange with Westgate, the business owner filed for bankruptcy.

Earlier this month, as part of the bankruptcy process, Westgate participated in a heated phone call with his creditors and the trustee overseeing the case.

During the call, Westgate blamed Janak and the Facebook group for his financial struggles. He told the trustee if he had the money, he would consider filing legal action for damages.

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“A lot of these problems could have been cleaned up one at a time,” Westgate said. “I was trying to escape that crazy lady chasing me around, trying to run everything, which she eventually did.”

However, it was clear that some of Westgate’s creditors were not buying his explanation, especially because many of their issues surfaced well before the formation of the social media group in July 2022.

In some tense exchanges, the trustee repeatedly asked people not to argue and to refrain from profanity.

“My question is, how do you run a business like that?” one homeowner asked.

“This man is a liar, a scam, a fraud artist and a con artist,” another homeowner said.

Ponte, the electrician with a judgment against Westgate, joined the call and did not hold back.

“I want to know why this piece of (expletive) hasn’t paid me,” Ponte said. “You can take that bankruptcy and shove it up your butt.”

The call was continued until January because the trustee said he is still awaiting Westgate’s tax returns from 2021 and 2022. During the call, Westgate said he is currently working as a salesman for a home improvement business in Rhode Island.

Neither Westgate nor his attorney responded to our request for comment about the allegations made during the bankruptcy phone call with his creditors.

“Bankruptcy relief is designed for people who are honest but have suffered from financial distress,” explained bankruptcy attorney Frank Morrissey. “Bankruptcy is not intended, nor is it a home for people who commit fraud.”

Morrissey said customers will have the opportunity to file an objection to their debts being discharged through the bankruptcy process. However, that means spending money to hire an attorney with no guarantee there will be any assets to collect in the end.

“That’s the dilemma,” Morrissey said. “Many people take the position that it’s just throwing good money after bad.”

With their civil cases hitting a dead end because of the bankruptcy, a handful of homeowners are now pursuing criminal charges. Several police departments have confirmed to us they are investigating the details of the home improvement projects.

As we previously reported, Westgate was not registered as a home improvement contractor in Massachusetts, as required by state law.

A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Attorney General said the agency has received eight consumer complaints about Westgate and encouraged other homeowners to submit a complaint if they have experienced unfair conduct.

Customers like Levesque, who had to pay more than $20,000 to have the deck project finished, believes there should be some price to pay for what she and others lost. 

“Given the amount of people he’s hurt, I think he should go to jail,” she said.

Ryan Kath can be reached at ryan.kath@nbcuni.com. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram or connect on Facebook.