A Baltimore County man who recently pleaded guilty to operating without a legitimate contractor?s license apparently has failed to pay any court-ordered restitution.
Aleksander Usherenko, 35, whose last known address was 6932 Ten Timbers Lane in Baltimore County, was ordered to pay a total of $100,000 in restitution to two Baltimore City homeowners who hired Usherenko?s Gem Atlas Inc. as a contractor to renovate their properties in the city. As part of the plea agreement with the Baltimore State?s Attorney Office, Usherenko was ordered to pay a total of $18,000 the dayafter his Nov. 27 guilty plea was accepted by the court.
The restitution and payment order came as part of the plea agreement in which Usherenko?s 90-day jail sentence was suspended. He was placed on three years supervised probation, during which time he must pay $1,134 a month to the Division of Parole and Probation, the same office he was suppose to pay the $18,000 to on Nov. 28.
Paul Genovese, one of the two homeowners who filed complaints against Usherenko with the Maryland Home Improvement Commission, said he has yet to receive a penny from Usherenko.
“This guy is thumbing his nose at the court system,” Genovese said. “We have no confirmation that he has paid.”
State Attorney David Mabrey, who prosecuted Usherenko for doing renovation work without a contractors? license and failing to fulfill the terms of a contract, said he cannot determine if Usherenko made the required payment.
“I can?t get a straight answer from Parole and Probation,” Mabrey said.
Usherenko?s lawyer, Howard Cardin, did not return telephone calls seeking comment. Calls to the telephone at Usherenko?s last known address also were not returned.
Usherenko pleaded guilty Nov. 27 to failing to fulfill the terms of his May 31, 2005, contract with Genovese and being an unlicensed contractor. Genovese paid Usherenko $103,000 of a $125,000 contract to gut and rehabilitate a house, but he left the job incomplete on Jan. 2 and refused to return to work, said Joseph Sziatka, public information officer with the Baltimore State?s Attorney Office.
Usherenko also operated a business under the name of Gem Atlas Construction, according to separate civil court documents.
While Usherenko completed work for Michael Mohktarian and was paid $61,323 of a $105,000 contract, Usherenko was convicted of doing the work without a valid license, Sziatka said.
“We know he [Usherenko] got a [Maryland Home Improvement Commission] number that doesn?t belong to anyone else,” said Linda Sherman, spokesman for the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. “How he got the number is unclear.”
