On September 11 the Missouri Attorney General’s Office announced a restitution judgment of $180,953.27 against a Franklin County concrete contractor who pleaded guilty to twelve felony counts. For homeowners in the St. Louis region, the useful question is what a judgment like that accomplishes, and what a homeowner still has to do on their own.
Announced September 11, 2026. According to the Attorney General’s Office, Daniel M. Carbone, owner of Concrete Impressions, pleaded guilty to twelve felony counts, including financial exploitation of an elderly person, stealing, and deceptive business practices, and was ordered to pay $180,953.27 in restitution. The office reports concurrent sentences of ten, seven, and four years with execution suspended, five years of supervised probation, and a prohibition on owning concrete construction companies. He was indicted in April 2023.
Contractor fraud cases follow a recognizable shape. A homeowner signs for a driveway, a patio, or a roof. A large deposit changes hands. Work begins, or stops after a day. Calls go unanswered and the refund never comes. The Attorney General’s Office describes that sequence in the Franklin County case, and has described it in several other Missouri counties this year.
Criminal restitution is real money, and probation is the lever
Restitution in a Missouri criminal case is governed by section 559.105, RSMo. Any person found guilty of or pleading guilty to an offense may be ordered to make restitution to the victim, and the statute reaches a victim’s reasonable expenses of participating in the prosecution.
The provision that gives the order teeth concerns probation. An offender ordered to pay restitution may not be released from probation until it is complete, and if it is not paid within the original term, the court is directed to extend probation to the maximum period allowed. Parole carries the same condition. Where a sentence is imposed but its execution is suspended, that structure is the enforcement mechanism, because the suspended prison terms remain available.
A practical consequence. A restitution judgment is not a check. It is an obligation enforced through the court’s continuing supervision, paid over time, and dependent on the defendant having income to pay from. Victims should confirm with the prosecuting office how payments are disbursed and keep their contact information current for the full probation term.
The Attorney General represents the state, not the homeowner
This point is easy to miss, and it changes what a homeowner should expect. The Attorney General’s own consumer complaint page states that the office brings enforcement actions on behalf of the state rather than individual consumers, and cannot give legal advice to those who file complaints. Filing one is worth doing, and the office reports that its mediation returns substantial sums to consumers, but a complaint is not a substitute for a claim of your own.
On the civil side, section 407.100 lets the Attorney General seek injunctions, receivers, and the sequestering of funds, and lets a court enter an order of restitution payable to the state, which the office then distributes to injured parties. It also authorizes a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars per violation. Those are state remedies, on the state’s timetable.
The homeowner’s own claim under the Merchandising Practices Act
Missouri’s private consumer remedy is section 407.025. A person who purchases merchandise primarily for personal, family, or household purposes and suffers an ascertainable loss because of an unlawful practice under section 407.020 may sue in circuit court. The court may award punitive damages, may award attorney’s fees based on the time reasonably expended, and may grant equitable relief.
The section as it now reads also imposes requirements that did not always apply. A claimant must show that they acted as a reasonable consumer would, that the practice would cause a reasonable person to enter the transaction, and that damages can be calculated with a reasonable degree of certainty on sufficiently definitive and objective evidence. In a contractor dispute that translates into documentation: the signed contract, the scope of work, proof of payment, dated photographs, written demands, and a credible estimate of the cost to finish the job correctly.
Timing matters as well. Section 516.120 sets a five-year limitation for an action upon a liability created by statute other than a penalty or forfeiture, and Missouri courts have applied that period to Merchandising Practices Act claims. Waiting to see how a criminal case resolves can consume much of that window.
Two names, two very different penalties
Missouri law contains provisions that sound alike, and confusing them produces a wrong answer. Section 570.140, titled deceptive business practice, covers conduct such as false weights and measures, and it is a class A misdemeanor. Subsection 3 of section 407.020 is separate: engaging in an unlawful practice willfully, knowingly, and with intent to defraud is a class E felony, which under section 558.011 carries a term not to exceed four years.
The elderly-victim counts draw on a third statute. Section 570.145 defines financial exploitation of an elderly person or a person with a disability as knowingly obtaining control of that person’s property, with intent to permanently deprive, through deceit, coercion, or undue influence. It grades by amount, reaching a class C felony at $5,000, a class B felony at $25,000, and a class A felony at $75,000. Where an older homeowner is involved, capacity and authority to sign can matter as much as the contract, which brings guardianship and conservatorship questions into view.
The lien rules that decide whether you pay twice
The second injury in a failed construction job often arrives from an unexpected direction. The contractor collects the deposit, does not pay the supplier or subcontractor, and those parties assert a mechanic’s lien against the house. Two Missouri statutes govern this on residential work, and both operate as conditions rather than suggestions.
Section 429.012 · Notice to owner. An original contractor must give the owner a ten-point bold type notice before receiving any payment, at execution of the contract, when materials are delivered, when work commences, or with the first invoice. It warns that failure to pay suppliers can result in a lien, and advises the owner to ask for lien waivers. Compliance is a condition precedent to the validity of that contractor’s own lien.
Section 429.013 · Consent on residential property. For repair, remodeling, or additions to owner-occupied residential property of four units or fewer, the statute contemplates a separate written consent, signed by the owner in ten-point bold type, to the filing of liens by anyone who supplies materials or services and is not paid. Absent that consent, full payment of the amount due under the contract is a complete defense to all liens filed by persons performing work or furnishing material.
The paperwork a homeowner received at the start of the job, or never received, can therefore be decisive months later. The original contract packet is evidence. These are ordinary real estate and title questions until a lien is filed, at which point they become litigation.
A criminal restitution order tells you what a defendant owes. It does not tell you when, or whether, the money arrives.
Missouri does not license general contractors
The Missouri Division of Professional Registration lists roughly forty regulated professions and boards. Electrical contractors appear on it, as do architects, engineers, and surveyors. General contractors and residential contractors do not. Licensing is handled locally, and the requirements in St. Louis County, St. Charles County, Franklin County, and the cities within them are not identical. A business card reading “licensed and insured” is therefore a claim rather than a state credential. Verification runs through the jurisdiction that issues the business license and building permit, and through the insurer named on the certificate, contacted directly.
The three-day cancellation rule, and its limits
Missouri’s home solicitation sale provisions give a buyer three business days to cancel, and until the seller makes the required disclosures the buyer may cancel in any manner and by any means. The right is narrower than it is often described. Section 407.700 defines a home solicitation sale as a consumer credit sale of goods or services, other than real property, solicited in person at the buyer’s residence, and excludes sales following prior negotiations at the seller’s fixed place of business. A homeowner who writes a deposit check after a door knock should not assume the rule covers it.
A pattern, not an isolated case
The Franklin County announcement is one of several this year. The same office announced a restitution judgment of nearly $100,000 against a St. Francois County contractor on May 5, 2026, a judgment of $191,000 in a Maries County case on August 24, 2026, and a $60,000 judgment in a Greene County roofing case. The recurrence is itself information: prevention deserves more attention than recovery.
Before the deposit leaves your account
Confirm the business license and building permit with the city or county, and insurance with the carrier directly.
Insist on a written scope of work with materials, dimensions, a schedule, and payments tied to completed milestones.
Keep the section 429.012 notice, any section 429.013 consent, and every invoice and lien waiver together.
Pay by traceable methods, photograph the site at each stage, and send a written demand with a deadline if work stops.
A homeowner in this position may have overlapping paths: a complaint to the Consumer Protection Section, a report to the local prosecutor, a private claim under the Merchandising Practices Act, a breach of contract claim, and a defense to any lien. A contractor who follows the notice statutes and documents change orders is far less likely to face a dispute at all, which is a question of how the business is set up. Where conduct has drawn a charge, the analysis shifts to criminal defense; where money is owed between businesses, to business and general litigation.
Helpful resources
The coverage below is drawn from several vantage points and labeled by ownership, so you can weigh each account and reach your own conclusion.
Press release on the Franklin County judgment, September 11, 2026 · Missouri Attorney General, a state agency and a party to the case.
Consumer complaint page and hotline, 1-800-392-8222 · Missouri Attorney General, a state agency.
Section 407.025, private action under the Merchandising Practices Act · Missouri Revisor of Statutes, the official state codification.
Sections 429.012 and 429.013, mechanic’s lien notice and residential consent · Missouri Revisor of Statutes.
Section 559.105, restitution and probation · Missouri Revisor of Statutes.
List of licensed professions and boards · Missouri Division of Professional Registration, a state agency.
Related on this site: A Lapsed License and a Refused Inspection: Missouri Sues Two Kennel Operators
Facing a contractor dispute or a lien on your property?
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This article is provided for general educational purposes only and is not legal or tax advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship with Haake Law Group PC or with Derek R. Haake. Statutes and court decisions change, and their application depends on the facts of a given matter. Verify any statute against the current official source and consult a licensed attorney about your own situation before acting.