Home Improvement Contractor Charged With Defrauding Somers Couple

SOMERS, CT — A home improvement contractor was recently arrested on a warrant following a lengthy investigation into a complaint that his company accepted a sizable deposit for a roof replacement job at a Somers house, then never showed up to perform the work and did not return numerous messages from the homeowners.

David Karnuk, 42, of Farmington, was charged with third-degree larceny and violating home improvement contractor requirements. Bond was set at $50,000, which was reduced to $10,000 at his arraignment in Rockville Superior Court. His next appearance is scheduled for Dec. 20, according to judicial records.

According to a 6-page affidavit supporting Karnuk's arrest, he is the owner of Silverline Restoration. On Feb. 1 of this year, he visited a house on Grant Avenue to provide an estimate for a roof replacement. The homeowners agreed to terms with Karnuk, and provided him a deposit of $8,925, or 50 percent of the estimate.

He told the homeowners it would be 4-6 weeks before the job was done, and the check he received cleared the homeowners' bank a day following its issuance, according to the affidavit.

Six weeks later, with the work not having yet started, the homeowners contacted Karnuk, and were told "they were working to get an installation date." A week and a half after that correspondence, they were told they were being "put on the schedule for 4/13/23," but the company canceled two subsequent appointments, according to the affidavit.

After several more emails and voice messages met with no response, the homeowners requested a refund. There was again no response, so an attorney sent a refund request, which was promptly answered by Karnuk. The couple agreed to let him do the work, but three more appointments were canceled, leading to formal complaints being filed with the Department of Consumer Protection, the Better Business Bureau and the Somers Police Department, according to the affidavit.

At the end of August, a civil lawsuit was filed with the Judicial District of Hartford. As a criminal investigation continued, a search and seizure warrant for Silverline Restoration's bank account was obtained, and the company's business phone number was disconnected, according to the affidavit.

The homeowners have since settled their civil lawsuit with Karnuk, but wished to proceed with criminal charges, according to the affidavit.