AG Sued Contractor in 2022 for Failures to Complete Work
HARRISBURG – Attorney General Dave Sunday has filed a lawsuit against Edward and Beata Myles and their company, Professional Home Services, for undisclosed transfers of properties — which they sold for a dollar each to relatives, as a measure to hinder the Office of Attorney General’s asset collection efforts.
The relatives, Malgorzata Bennett and Robert Bennett, are also defendants in the latest lawsuit, which follows a court ruling that ordered the Myleses’ company to pay more than $500,000 to consumers who paid deposits for home repairs and did not receive them.
Shortly before that judgment, the Myleses transferred properties — worth more than $130,000 — for a dollar apiece. The Myleses eventually filed bankruptcy, which would have absolved them of the debt that they owed to consumers. The Office of Attorney General — in pursuit of the restitution sum for consumers — contested that bankruptcy filing. A court ultimately ruled in the office’s favor.
“This case is about a company’s continued disregard of victims and attempts to avoid accountability,” Attorney General Sunday said. “Our office does not file a lawsuit, and then let the chips fall as they may. We are aggressively pursuing this company to secure payouts for victims who lost hard-earned money and have yet to be made whole.”
In September 2022, the Office of Attorney General sued Edward Myles and Professional Home Services Contracting, LLC, for violations of the Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Law and Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act. The office received numerous complaints against the company, where consumers reported paying substantial down payments for home building and home improvement projects that were never completed and, in some cases, never even started.
Ultimately, the Office of Attorney General obtained a default judgment of more than $500,000 for consumers who suffered losses due to Edward Myles and Professional Home Services’ deceptive business practices.
Shortly before the default judgment was entered, Professional Home Services transferred multiple properties to Beata Myles’ mother and stepfather, Malgorzata Bennett and Robert Bennett, for $1 each. Edward and Beata Myles failed to disclose the transfer of properties. The properties could have been utilized in the Office of Attorney General’s collection efforts.
Edward and Beata Myles then filed bankruptcy in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. During the bankruptcy, the Office took action to protect the claims of consumers harmed by Professional Home Services by filing a Proof of Claim and an Adversary Complaint to determine that the debt owed to consumers was non-dischargeable through the bankruptcy. Ultimately, through the efforts of the Office, the Bankruptcy Court dismissed the case and barred Edward and Beata Myles from filing another bankruptcy case for 180 days.
Any Pennsylvania resident who believes they may have been victimized by Professional Home Services or Edward and Beata Myles should submit a complaint to the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection online or call 1-800-441-2555.
This lawsuit was filed by the Office of Attorney General’s Financial Enforcement Section in conjunction with the Bureau of Consumer Protection in the Carbon County Court of Common Pleas.
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