Harford County Home Builders Charged With Abandoning Projects Before Finishing Them

HARFORD COUNTY, MD — The Maryland Attorney General's Office have filed charges against Korey Homes Building Group LLC and owners Kenneth W. Smith and his son Korey Wayne Smith have for failing to comply with the Consumer Protection Act, New Home Deposits Act, Custom Home Protection Act and Home Builder Registration Act.

According to the statement of charges, Korey Homes accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars from consumers who contracted with the company for the construction of custom homes in Harford County, but failed to complete construction of their homes. The Korey Homes office in Forest Hill is now closed, the website is no longer active, and the business phone has been disconnected.

The charges allege that Korey Homes, Kenneth W. Smith and Korey Wayne Smith violated the laws protecting new home purchasers in Maryland by, among other things, breaching the trust created for the benefit of the buyer, misappropriating the money paid by consumers to Korey Homes, making false and misleading statements, and failing to state material facts. The charges also allege that Korey Homes and its principals failed to disclose required information in the application to register as a home builder.

A hearing on the statement of charges filed against Korey Homes, Kenneth W. Smith and Korey Smith will be held Dec. 6 at 9:30 a.m. at the Office of Administrative Hearings. The Home Builder Registration Unit is seeking injunctive relief, restitution, economic damages and civil penalties against them for the alleged violations of the law.

“The decision that families make to build a house that they can call home requires significant time, commitment and money, but it’s also the opportunity to fulfill a dream for many Maryland families,” said Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown. “In using their hard-earned money to create a new home, consumers should be able to trust their builder to recognize the magnitude of this decision and to lawfully provide the services they promised.”

Consumers who have had problems with this builder or others should contact the Home Builder Registration Unit at 410-576-6573 in Baltimore or call toll free at 877-259-4525. The Attorney General’s Office encourages new home buyers to check whether their builder is registered by calling the Home Builder Registration Unit or visiting www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/pages/cpd/homebuilder.