SALT LAKE CITY — A man whose certification to work as a title agent was suspended earlier this year started a construction business that has no contractor license, according to a state agency, records and a worker the man hired.
Ryan K. Goodrich was the subject of a FOX 13 investigation in March. The Utah Insurance Department issued an emergency order suspending his title agent license and accused him of forging documents and borrowing money against a home he didn’t own.
Now, FOX 13 has learned Goodrich has entered the construction contracting business. On July 21, according to state records, he incorporated RG Design and Construction.
But days before that, he hired Jose Sandoval, a drywall hanger. Sandoval provided FOX 13 with text messages between him and Goodrich showing Sandoval was hired to work on a home in North Ogden.
“It was at the basement of this family,” Sandoval said in an interview.
“They just barely bought this home, and they wanted the basement done,” he added.
“[Goodrich] insists that he is licensed and insured,” Sandoval said. No contractor license for Goodrich is found in the online state database, dopl.utah.gov. A spokeswoman for the Division of Professional Licensing confirmed Goodrich has no license.
One FOX 13 viewer who said Goodrich answered his ad forwarded a contract that Goodrich sent him. The contract lists a license number, but the number doesn’t match anything in the license database.
Utah requires a contractor license for anyone overseeing construction projects valued at $3,000 or more.
Goodrich incorporated RG Design and Construction in Syracuse. Heather Nielsen, who maintains a database of business licenses for Syracuse municipal government, said no license was on file for Goodrich’s business. When shown the incorporation paperwork, Nielsen said she would send the company a notice that it was out of compliance.
Sandoval had answered Goodrich’s online advertisement. Sandoval said Goodrich was in a hurry to get the job done. Sandoval offered to hire an assistant and go to work.
“I told [Goodrich], ‘Well, you know… just pay me $4,000 flat,’” Sandoval said.
Then on July 21, a Friday, payday, Goodrich sent Sandoval texts with excuses for why he could not deliver a check. Goodrich said he was busy in Utah County. When Sandoval got in touch with Goodrich again on Saturday afternoon, Goodrich wrote back that his bank was closed.
“I'm saying, ‘I'm done,’” Sandoval said. “So, … ‘I am not going to do anything else next week until you pay me for last week.’”
Sandoval went to the homeowner. The homeowner agreed to pay Sandoval $3,000 plus reimburse him for materials Goodrich was supposed to have paid for, Sandoval and the homeowner confirmed.
The homeowner declined to go on camera but told FOX 13 the basement finishing was supposed to be done in two weeks but that he’d been waiting two and a half months for Goodrich to complete the job.
He has paid Goodrich $9,500 plus the $3,000 and expenses to Sandoval, but the job isn’t finished yet, the homeowner said.
Goodrich has not been charged with any crimes related to either the title agency or construction business. He has previously denied wrongdoing with his title company. As for the construction business, he would not grant FOX 13 an interview.
Sandoval showed FOX 13 correspondence with an investigator from DOPL. Staff there declined to discuss any investigation into Goodrich.
But Deborah Blackburn, the assistant director at DOPL, spoke in general about unlicensed contractors.
“If you decide to hire an unlicensed contractor, it is really going to be buyer beware,” Blackburn said.
“If you're victimized by a bad contractor, it is going to be an uphill battle to try to get your money back,” she added.
There can be civil — the first offense can be up to a $1,000 fine — or criminal penalties — a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail — for performing as an unlicensed contractor. Some cases can even be prosecuted as a felony fraud.
But DOPL has no power to recover damages for the victims, Blackburn explained.
Even Sandoval said he’s going to begin looking up whether contractors have a license before taking work.
“I will definitely be more careful next time,” he said.
The Department of Insurance suspended Goodrich and his business, Synergy Title Insurance Agency in Clearfield, after he agreed to pay $1.6 million to buy a home in Morgan from Reed and Shelly McDermott.
Documents and an interview with the McDermotts show Goodrich kept delaying the closing and making excuses for why he hadn’t paid the money.
In its emergency order suspending his title agent license, the Insurance Department says Goodrich forged the McDermotts’ signatures on closing statements and borrowed $865,000 against their home.
The McDermotts recently told FOX 13 the liens were removed from their title and their house will soon be back on the market.