PROVIDENCE – The owners of a Narragansett-based home construction company,
one of whom was recently arrested by R.I. State Police, are ordered to appear at a show-case hearing Jan. 18 at the R.I. Department of Business Regulation after their company’s license to operate in the state was suspended back on Dec. 20 for 30 days.
Exodus Construction LLC, owned by Christopher Goddard and Ann-Marie Goddard, had its license suspended by RIDBR after the department noted in its emergency order that the company is facing seven lawsuits filed against it alleging failure to pay subcontractors and materials people for work performed on projects, as well as alleged breach of contract. Those lawsuits, the order states, were filed with R.I. Superior Court by the entities against Exodus between July 11, 2023, and Dec. 20, 2023.
RIDBR’s Contractors' Registration and Licensing Board, according to the order, also received two consumer complaints against Exodus’ owners for allegedly failing to perform work on projects after accepting payment to do said work. One such complaint, according to the order, notes homeowners in North Kingstown paid the Exodus owners $101,075 to begin building a nearly million-dollar home. But “no work [was] done on the site,” the complaint states, and the Exodus owners “have failed to refund any portion of the … deposit.”
The Exodus owners could face monetary fines if the hearing officer feels necessary at the Jan. 18 show-cause meeting.
News of Exodus’ license suspension comes three days after Ann-Marie Goddard was arrested by state police on charges of embezzlement and fraudulent conversion, unlawful appropriation and obtaining money/property by false pretenses or impersonation. She allegedly misappropriated $98,075 in funds from Exodus Construction accounts and engaged in fraudulent activities, transferring money into her personal accounts and using the money for nonbusiness-related expenditures.
Goddard was arraigned in Washington County District Court Jan. 3 and granted $5,000 bail with surety.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
