Attorney General Ellison sues two contractors for fraud; urges anyone defrauded by them to contact his office

Two unlicensed contractors allegedly defrauded Minnesotans out of at least $1.6M; deceived consumers that they were licensed with the State when in fact the State had banned them

One consumer had to demolish childhood home after contractor abandoned repair job and left the home exposed to winter weather

October 14, 2025 (SAINT PAUL) — Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that he filed two lawsuits against unlicensed contractors who defrauded dozens of homeowners across Minnesota: (1) Earl Christian Rode IV and his company High Road Builders, LLC, and (2) Ryan David Pietron and his company Affordable Home Remodeling, LLC. The defendants in the two lawsuits are unrelated, yet run nearly identical scams: both accepted tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in pre-payments for home renovation services, performed little to no work, and refused to return their customers’ money.

The lawsuit against Rode and High Road Builders accuses them of fraudulently taking more than $1.2 million total from at least 10 Minnesota families, while the lawsuit against Pietron and Affordable Home Remodeling accuses them of fraudulently taking nearly $400,000 from 16 Minnesota families. In both cases, the Defendants took money for home construction and remodeling projects that they failed to complete or, in many cases, even start at all.

Attorney General Ellison believes more Minnesota families may have been victimized by these fraudsters and encourages anyone who has been defrauded by them to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office using its online complaint form available at www.ag.state.mn.us/Office/Complaint.asp.

Attorney General Ellison’s lawsuits allege that both defendants deceived consumers by falsely claiming to be licensed contractors with the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. In reality, Pietron and Affordable Home Remodeling have been banned from even applying for a contractor’s license until 2030. Rode and High Road Builders are banned for life. Both defendants deceived consumers in numerous other ways—including forging documents—to secure payments for work they never completed or, in some cases, even started.

“It is infuriating to hear that these fake contractors have been taking tens of thousands of dollars from Minnesota families trying to do home renovation projects and skipping town— sometimes without even lifting a finger,” said Attorney General Keith Ellison. “The stories I have heard about these cheats are everyone’s worst nightmare when doing an expensive and important project in their home. My mission as Attorney General is to help Minnesotans afford their lives, so I’m suing these fraudulent contractors to recover the hard-earned money they stole from Minnesotans. If you have been ripped off by these bogus contractors, or been the victim of any other scam, I encourage you to file a complaint with my office. I look forward to holding these scammers accountable for the harm they have done to families across our state."

Attorney General Ellison’s lawsuits accuse both contractors of violating the Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and the False Statements in Advertisement Act. The lawsuits seek to end both defendants’ unlawful behavior, force the defendants to repay the families they scammed, impose civil penalties on the defendants, and require the defendants to pay the State’s legal fees.

Examples of Earl Christian Rode IV’s fraudulent conduct

In one instance, Rode falsely told a homeowner that he worked for an unrelated and legitimate third-party contractor and even provided the homeowner with an array of fake documents, including a copy of the legitimate contractor’s builder’s license as if it applied to him, a fake contract in that company’s name, and a forged invoice from a supplier who Mr. Rode falsely stated was working on part of a project for the homeowner. Rode obtained a $60,000 advance from this homeowner, then disappeared. 

In a separate instance, a consumer hired Rode and paid him over $900,000 to make extensive renovations to his mother’s home after Rode lied to the consumer that he was licensed and insured. For over a year, Rode gave the consumer false progress updates to justify more and more payments. Rode ultimately abandoned the project entirely after only performing a small portion of the work, resulting in the unsealed home being completely ruined by winter weather exposure. The consumer ultimately had to demolish his childhood home entirely as a result.

Examples of Ryan David Pietron’s fraudulent conduct

One consumer who had hired Pietron and Affordable Home Remodeling to complete a project asked Pietron for an update on the project while she was out of town, as they had done almost no work on her kitchen in nearly a year since she had first hired them. Pietron claimed he had a crew working at the client’s house as they spoke. When the consumer checked her home security cameras, she saw this was completely false and that nobody had come to her house to work. Pietron invented several other fake reasons for the delay, including multiple broken-down trucks. Shortly thereafter, Pietron abandoned the project entirely and absconded with her money. 

Another consumer who hired Pietron and Affordable Home Remodeling asked him for proof his company had actually purchased materials for a project after months went by and no work had started. As proof, Affordable Home Remodeling sent an invoice showing materials had been ordered. However, when the client contacted the supplier listed on the invoice, they discovered the invoice was fake. Pietron made off with $30,000 of the consumer’s money and never even began the work.

Attorney General’s Office seeks consumers defrauded by both companies

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office believes other consumers were likely victimized by each of these fraudulent contractors and is asking members of the media and the public for help getting in contact with those consumers. The Office encourages anyone cheated by Ryan Pietron and Affordable Home Remodeling or Earl Rode and High Road Builders to file a complaint with the office using its online complaint form. The office can also be reached at 651-296-3353. As a complaint-driven office, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office is best able to assist fraud and scam victims when they file a complaint.