Dustin D. Golden, owner of Park Hills-based G5 Contracting, has been sentenced in St. Francois County after pleading guilty to a string of felonies tied to what prosecutors describe as a contractor fraud scheme targeting homeowners. A judge ordered Golden to pay $96,500 in restitution and imposed prison terms that prosecutors say will run concurrently. The felony counts include deceptive business practices, financial exploitation of an elderly person and stealing.
According to First Alert 4, the Missouri Attorney General’s Office under Catherine Hanaway secured the restitution judgment after alleging Golden took large upfront payments for residential work, then did little or no actual repairs. Golden pleaded guilty to four felony counts of deceptive business practices, two felony counts of financial exploitation of an elderly person and two felony counts of stealing. The report notes he received four-year prison terms for each deceptive-business-practice count and seven-year terms for each financial-exploitation and stealing count, with the judge ordering all sentences to run at the same time.
Business Profile and Where Victims Reported Losses
The Better Business Bureau lists G5 Contracting at 313 Crane St. in Park Hills. The listing shows the company is not accredited and is marked out of business. The BBB profile includes an alert and a public complaint history that line up with homeowners’ accounts of unfinished or poorly executed projects.
How Prosecutors Say the Scheme Worked
Prosecutors say Golden pitched himself for remodeling and repair jobs, collected hefty deposits up front, then did negligible work or walked away from the projects altogether. First Alert 4 reports that the Attorney General’s Office identified multiple victims and used its consumer-protection authority to secure the restitution judgment. With the judge ordering the sentences to run concurrently, Golden will serve the prison terms at the same time rather than back to back.
Legal Penalties Under Missouri Law
Missouri criminal law specifically targets deceptive business practices and the financial exploitation of elderly or disabled people. Those provisions are laid out in Chapter 570 of the Revised Statutes, according to the Missouri Revised Statutes. Section 570.140 describes deceptive business-practice offenses and related penalties, and the state code also defines financial exploitation and the tools prosecutors can use to seek restitution and prison time, per Justia.
Where Victims Can Turn
Homeowners who paid G5 Contracting or suspect they were targeted can file a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section either online or by calling 1-800-392-8222. The office’s complaint portal is at app.ago.mo.gov. The Attorney General’s Office accepts documentation and evaluates claims for possible restitution, and victims are also encouraged to contact local law enforcement and preserve contracts, receipts and photos of unfinished work.
The sentence wraps up the criminal case, but the restitution judgment remains active as the state works to claw back money for homeowners. It is a pointed reminder that Missouri’s consumer-protection arm has tools to go after crooked contractors and try to get at least some of the cash back for people who were left holding the bag.
