Chippewa Falls, WI, March 29, 2006--Warrants were issued this morning for the arrest of two men who allegedly bilked area consumers out of thousands of dollars through a fraudulent flooring business in Chippewa Falls, according to the Chippewa Herald.
Daniel A. Steinke, 30, owner of Flawless Flooring, and sales manager Brian E. Laskoski, 27, are facing criminal charges and potentially tens of thousands of dollars of restitution, according to District Attorney Jon Theisen.
The charges stem from a months-long investigation that began with consumer complaints that the business, through Laskoski or Steinke, collected cash payments for work that was ultimately not performed. One customer had turned over $30,000 in cash, according to police.
Initially, Steinke has been charged with felony theft by contractor, punishable by up to six years in prison, and Laskoski has been charged with felony bail jumping and misdemeanor theft against an elderly or disabled person. However, that is just the beginning, Theisen said. He expects multiple additional criminal charges to be filed against the two in the coming weeks.
Theisen said for now he wanted to put a stop to the allegedly illegal activities and make the public aware of what has been going on.
“The public should be diligent in shopping around before they give cash payments to contractors,” Theisen said.
Theisen praised Chippewa Falls Police Department Investigator Dave Johnson for his work on the complicated case. According to a summary report filed by Johnson:
Flawless Flooring opened for business at 10 W. Spring St. in Chippewa Falls in spring 2005, with Steinke as the sole owner. Steinke has an extensive criminal record, including drug charges, thefts, and stolen property offenses.
In summer 2005, Steinke hired Laskoski and promoted him to sales manager in the fall. He described him as “a great talker and an aggressive salesman, crediting him with bringing in a large volume of business and money,” Johnson report states.
Laskoski, too, has a criminal record, with arrests and some convictions for fraud, disorderly conduct, battery, bail jumping and numerous traffic matters. In September 2005 he was arrested for possession with intent to deliver cocaine in Eau Claire County and was out on a $1,000 signature bond.
Johnson’s investigation revealed that Flawless Flooring did a great deal of business in October 2005 by advertising large discounts for customers who paid in cash at the time of the order. Checks were discouraged, especially by Laskoski.
In November, the business experienced cash flow problems, with multiple checks issued by the business being returned for insufficient funds.
Customers were complaining that they were not receiving flooring they had paid for in advance. Vendors were complaining that they were being paid with bad checks.
In December, Laskoski stopped showing up for work. Investigation showed he opened his own business, called Liberty Flooring, at 1423 S. Hastings Way in Eau Claire, and had taken Flawless Flooring files with him.
More theft by contractor complaints were coming in to the police department, which Johnson continued to investigate.
Johnson learned that Laskoski in his final weeks with Flawless Flooring misrepresented himself as the owner of the business and of Liberty Flooring in Eau Claire, and he diverted business away from Flawless Flooring and to his new business. One couple gave Laskoski $30,000 in cash, thinking they were doing business with Flawless Flooring. Laskoski deposited it in his Liberty Flooring account, and it disappeared from there without all the subcontractors being paid and without the job being finished.
Johnson’s report states that Laskoski tried to pay one subcontractor on that project with cocaine.
Steinke owes at least $18,733 to known complainants in the investigation, and Laskoski owes subcontractors on one project at least $19,905 and as much as $30,000.
