TOPEKA – (March 31, 2022) – A Manhattan man who operated a concrete company has been banned from doing business in Kansas for violating a 2021 consent judgment that alleged violations of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said today.
Douglas L. Bell III, of Manhattan, doing business as Custom Concrete Contractors, LLC, was permanently banned from doing business in Kansas. Shawnee County District Judge Mary E. Christopher yesterday ruled that Bell was in contempt for failing to abide by the provisions of the 2021 judgment, including the payment of $13,606.55 in restitution to two consumers in Shawnee County. Bell was also fined $40,000 in penalties yesterday and ordered to pay the costs of the attorney general’s investigation.
Bell was accused of violating the Kansas Consumer Protection Act by failing to honor a two-year warranty on the installation of an entrance and driveway for a consumer and failing to perform work on a project after being paid.
More tips on staying safe from consumer fraud are available on the attorney general’s consumer protection website at www.InYourCornerKansas.org. Copies of the 2021 consent judgement and the contempt order are available at www.InYourCornerKansas.org/judgments.
