Homebuilder gets 12-year sentence for fraud

Richard Tadlock, a homebuilder who scammed customers out of millions of dollars, was sentenced on Sept. 10 to 12 years of incarceration for fraud, the office of Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano reports.

A Fairfax County General District Court judge ordered Tadlock, 76, to pay $2.3 million in restitution to six families. A jury had previously convicted him of five counts of failing to perform construction work of more than $1,000 and one count of obtaining money by false pretenses.

The six victims had hired Tadlock’s company, T&S Homebuilders, to demolish their existing homes and/or build custom homes in 2021-23. Most of those projects are in the Ravensworth area of Annandale, said Laura Birnbaum of the Commonwealth Attorney’s office.

During the trial, prosecutors showed that Tadlock failed to perform any construction on four houses and left two other houses partially constructed. The homeowners had paid him for additional work that was never completed. In July 2023, all six victims filed demand letters with Tadlock, which he ignored, prompting them to go to the police.

At the sentencing hearing, victims testified for over five hours about the significant financial loss and emotional distress resulting from Tadlock’s fraud, a news release from Descano states. “They testified that they had lost life savings and that their years dealing with the defendant were some of the worst years of their lives, causing strain on marriages and diverting new parents’ attention from their children.”

A story published by WUSA9 in October 2023 recounts the anguish suffered by some of Tadlock’s victims. One couple, who were both active-duty military attorneys relocating to Northern Virginia, had hired T&S Homebuilders to build a new house for about $745,000.

When the couple checked on the progress of the house several weeks later, all they saw was a pile of dirt. Tadlock failed to get a building permit in time, which delayed the project, and he also changed the design and asked for more money.

Another couple who hired T&S to build their million-dollar dream house said there were delays and mistakes. During construction, contractors left the basement area exposed to the weather, resulting in water damage and mold. They fired Tadlock and spent an additional $300,000 to hire another contractor to finish the home.

A third couple told WUSA9 that they lost $400,000 after they canceled their contract with Tadlock because he failed to obtain building permits and didn’t do any work.

“Some people might not think that white-collar crime is important, but fraud cases like this can steal a family’s life savings and ruin their future,” Descano said. “Financial crimes can be devastating to victims and deserve to be prosecuted with the same level of seriousness and professionalism that our office brings to any criminal case.”