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Resident describes alleged contractor fraud, says district attorney office contact was difficult
Summary
During public comment, Mary Black told commissioners she and her husband experienced an alleged contractor fraud and said efforts to get help from county district attorney staff were unsatisfactory; commissioners and staff offered referrals to the state attorney general’s consumer-protection office and to county staff for follow-up.
Mary Black, a Washington County resident, used the public-comment period at the county commissioners’ meeting to describe what she called a fraud involving a contractor and to say she had difficulty getting assistance from the District Attorney’s Office.
Black told the board that a contractor who visited her home in December 2022 pressured the couple to pay $10,000 on the spot and later provided an estimate she said lacked itemized details and showed a single bottom-line figure of $69,800. “I asked him for an itemized [estimate],” Black said. “I gave him money, and I asked for an itemized, and he would not provide it.”
Black said she filed a civil complaint and that a magistrate later ruled in her favor after the contractor failed to appear at a hearing. She said when she followed the magistrate’s direction to contact the District Attorney’s Office, she encountered delays in scheduling and ultimately an interaction she described as upsetting with a DA office representative. She said the DA’s representative identified the situation as fraud but that the meeting felt abrupt and the representative spoke sharply to her husband. “He screamed at us,” Black said, describing the meeting.
County officials who addressed her during the public-comment period told Black they could refer her to the Office of Attorney General’s Consumer Protection division and try to connect her with resources through the District Attorney’s Office. A county official said, “We can also try to get something through a private program and play through our district attorney’s office as well,” and encouraged Black to speak with a staff member present in the room for follow-up.
The commissioners did not take formal action during the meeting on Black’s complaint; county staff offered to follow up and provide referrals to the state Office of Attorney General — Consumer Protection and to have county staff pursue appropriate next steps.
Ending: The commissioners’ staff asked Black to meet with a staff member after the meeting so officials could collect details and attempt a follow-up; no additional action was recorded on the meeting agenda.
