Elmhurst man accused of home repair fraud
The owner of a home repair company is facing charges accusing him of taking people's money and not doing the work.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul announced Thursday his office filed charges in Cook County against Edmund Kavanaugh, 57, of Elmhurst. Bail was set at $350,000.
Kavanaugh is charged with one count of aggravated home repair fraud, a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison. He also faces 21 counts of home repair fraud and six counts of theft.
"Edmund Kavanaugh is a prolific scammer who has spent years adjusting and evolving his scams in order to continue defrauding victims out of thousands of dollars," Raoul said in a news release. "Individuals who scam unsuspecting consumers have no place in our communities, and I am committed to continuing to hold accountable individuals who take advantage of consumers for personal gain."
According to the release, Kavanaugh owns and operates Goliath Construction. The attorney general also alleges Kavanaugh used alias names for himself and his business to obtain home repair projects, after details of past allegations became public.
Police departments from Arlington Heights, Berkeley, Hoffman Estates, Niles, Tinley Park and Western Springs helped investigate the case.
Kavanaugh already is being held in the Will County jail on $1 million bail on charges of continuing a financial crimes enterprise, theft and home repair fraud. Those charges were filed last year.
He was also indicted on Feb. 2 by a DuPage County grand jury on four counts of theft and seven counts of home repair fraud. The victims in that case lived in Westmont, Hanover Park and Bloomingdale, according to DuPage court records.
On Feb. 3, Kavanaugh was sentenced to two years in prison on a theft by deception charge. In that case, he was accused of defrauding an Elmhurst couple by selling them a defective refrigerator.