ELYRIA, Ohio — A local woman said she lost $50,000 to a home renovation contractor after she had already lost so much. That man has pleaded not guilty to grand theft charges.
Last August, Lilliemae Blankenship’s home in Elyria was gutted by a fire.
“I pull up. Whole street is blocked off. I’m like oh my God!” said Blankenship. “I hit the ground, severe panic attack, couldn’t breathe…I lost everything my mom left me. I lost everything. My kids lost everything,” she told us.
Insurance gave her money to rebuild. Blankenship said a high school friend, Kenneth Stuart, who goes by his middle name Shaun, had his own contracting company called Simply Carpentry. She asked him to help.
“I trusted him. I knew him for 20+ years,” said Blankenship. “Like, why wouldn’t I trust him?”
ONE TO COMPANY, ONE TO HIM
She said Stuart asked her to write two checks with one for $50,000 to his business and another $50,000 to him personally. “He specifically said it was to appropriately allocate the funds,” said Blankenship.
She told us that after that, there were many delays.
“He’s like oh, I’m just waiting on permits. As soon as I get ‘em, we’re good to go,” said Blankenship.
She told us Stuart kept putting off the demolition of the burned-out home. She said that with no work done, she has had enough.
“I would like my $100,000 back immediately. Period. I don’t want you doing my house,” said Blankenship. “I don’t trust you anymore.”
PAID SOME BACK, NOT ALL; COPS GET INVOLVED
Blankenship said Stuart eventually paid her back $50,000, but not the other $50,000.
She got the Ohio Attorney General’s Office involved, which insisted Stuart pay up, but she said she got nothing.
She also filed a report with Elyria Police.
“For us, it started in March of this year,” said Captain Bill Lantz from the Elyria PD Investigative Division. He said one thing that stood out to them was that Blankenship had just suffered a big loss with her home. “It’s hard to even fathom or understand how somebody could try to take advantage of somebody that’s in that situation,” he told us.
Captain Lantz said they tried numerous times to get Stuart’s side of this case.
“Never could get him to come in. Never could get him to provide any appropriate documents or anything like that,” said the captain.
TRYING TO GET A HOLD OF CONTRACTOR
News 5 Investigators, too, attempted to talk with Stuart through emails and phone calls, but we got no response. So we went to his home in Chagrin Falls.
“Hi, is Shaun around?” we asked as the front door opened.
Someone answered the door, saying he wasn’t home, the charges are false, and they would contact their attorney to see if they would do an interview with us. News 5 Investigators have not heard from them.
We found that Stuart is no stranger to cops. He pleaded guilty to attempted felonious assault involving two women in 2016 in Cuyahoga County and was sentenced to 9 months in prison. However, the judge allowed him to serve community control on the conviction. Now, Stuart has been arraigned on several grand theft felony charges in Blankenship’s case.
She said Stuart has ruined her plans for a place to call home again.
“Because I still haven’t gotten my money back, I don’t have enough money to rebuild,” said Blankenship. “I don’t even have enough money to buy another house because of him.”
Just this week, the Ohio Secretary of State canceled the limited liability partnership Simply Carpentry.
