For Immediate Release:
Thursday, March 17, 2022
Contact:
Nazneen Ahmed (919) 716-0060
(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today sued Christopher Dillard and his company Dillard Timber LLC for deceptive advertisement and consumer practices. While Dillard advertised his logging and timber services to North Carolina customers, no such company was ever registered with the North Carolina Secretary of State and no such business ever existed.
“We allege Dillard Timber is a sham of a business that rips off consumers,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “I’m taking Mr. Dillard to court to prevent him from harming others. I thank Senator Tom McInnis for bringing this matter to our attention. If you or someone you know is also a victim of this defendant, please file a complaint with my office at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or ncdoj.gov/complaint.”
Dillard advertised his business to landowners in central North Carolina, claiming that it specialized in select cutting, clear cutting, swamp logging, and thinning of timber. But in addition to not having or registering his business, Dillard owned no logging equipment, had no employees, and did not himself do logging, timber milling, or other timberwork. Instead, after luring in customers with misleading advertising for his nonexistent business, Dillard contracted with third parties to perform the services. Customers were left without options when jobs were not performed completely or as promised.
In one instance, Dillard contracted with two farm owners in Ellerbee, North Carolina, after sending them an advertisement in the mail. The owners hired Dillard to clear cut their land and remove logging debris. But loggers only harvested the most valuable timber and left the rest behind, including logging debris, and Dillard never returned to complete the work. Ultimately, the farm owners had to hire another service to complete the job. Additionally, Dillard paid the farm owners 50 to 80 percent below market rate for the timber harvested from their land.
Attorney General Stein is seeking to prevent Dillard from operating in the timber business or advertising timber services to North Carolinians, along with consumer restitution, civil penalties, attorney fees, and other relief.
A copy of the complaint is available here.
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