Lanham man accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars in payment for homes that were never built 
The Maryland Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division has ordered Lanham-based homebuilder, Derek A. McDaniels, and his Lanham-based company, McDaniels Homes, to pay more than $500,000 in restitution to consumers and penalties to the state, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said in a press release. McDaniels must pay $448,830 back within 45 days to the 10 families who originally filed complaints with the Attorney General's office, according to the order. The Druitts are not on that list because they filed their complaint at a later date, but McDaniels was also ordered to pay back any family who can prove they paid him or his company for a home that was never built.

Lanham homebuilder to pay $500K for violating consumer protection laws

Lanham man accused of taking tens of thousands of dollars in payment for homes that were never built

Lino and Deborah Druitt don't have the Upper Marlboro dream home they thought they were paying to have built in 2007, but the Maryland Attorney General's office announced Aug. 26 that they and at least 10 other families may get their money back from the homebuilder who failed to build their house and then disappeared.

The Maryland Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division has ordered Lanham-based homebuilder, Derek A. McDaniels, and his Lanham-based company, McDaniels Homes, to pay more than $500,000 in restitution to consumers and penalties to the state, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler said in a press release.

McDaniels must pay $448,830 back within 45 days to the 10 families who originally filed complaints with the Attorney General's office, according to the order. The Druitts are not on that list because they filed their complaint at a later date, but McDaniels was also ordered to pay back any family who can prove they paid him or his company for a home that was never built.

"Its great news to me," Lino Druitt said, adding that he also realizes "these things take time."

Neither McDaniels nor anyone else affiliated with McDaniels Homes could not be reached for comment by press time. Towson-based attorney Ronald Cherry, who represented McDaniels for part of the proceedings, declined to comment on the case but said Friday that he had sent McDaniels a copy of the order.

The Attorney General's Home Builder Registration Unit filed charges against McDaniels in April 2008, accusing him of engaging in deceptive business practices and failing to report lawsuits filed against his company when renewing his homebuilder registration.

Assistant Attorney General Jeston Hamer Jr., who prosecuted the case, confirmed that at least 20 families filed complaints that McDaniels took tens of thousands of dollars in deposits and other payments but then failed to finish — or begin — construction.

The Druitts said they tried unsuccessfully to follow up with McDaniels and his staff after putting down a $25,000 deposit on a 3,100-square-foot house in Upper Marlboro and then failing to see any construction after several months. They have remained in their current Upper Marlboro home.

"We just wanted to move on with our lives, but we also wanted to get justice," Lino Druitt said.

The state's Office of Administrative Hearings, the judicial body that conducted hearings for this case, concluded in late January that McDaniels had violated several consumer protection laws.

According to the release, McDaniels is barred from homebuilding in Maryland until he pays the full penalty and proves he can comply with homebuilding regulations in the future.

"The law in Maryland is very clear: home builders must properly handle consumer deposits and they must honor their commitments to home buyers," Gansler said in the statement released by his office.

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