Too busy for contracted projects

But BuildTrend owner Shawn Gerety has time and money to travel to London:

London has called... I listened...

— Shawn T. Gerety (@ShawnGerety) December 17, 2014

Shawn is so extremely busy he can't focus on projects he was paid for months ago:

Keep moving... Keep doing... Keep living... The moment we stop, we are dead...

— Shawn T. Gerety (@ShawnGerety) May 31, 2015

Vince Cottrell - BuildTREND Vice President

Cottrell has apparently moved on from a public affiliation with BuildTREND.  He now represents himself as Managing Partner of Trend Consulting Group (TCG).  That name sounds similar to BuildTREND doesn't it?

Vince is still in the construction business and seeking to hire "skilled Project Managers who poses the necessary background, experience, and expertise required to manage large commercial construction projects and/or multiple mid-size construction projects simultaniousley."

(Note: spelling and grammar carried forward from the source job posting)

Criminal Theft by Deception

BuildTREND Vice President Vincent E. Cottrell has a criminal record.

Vince was booked for "Theft by Deception" and other charges in New Jersey and incarcerated from August 2010 to March 2011.   In March 2011, he was then arrested in Pennsylvania and charged with "Theft by Deception" yet again.

See NJ mugshots of Cottrell in orange jumpsuits here:
http://www.bustedmugshots.com/new-jersey/camden/vincent-e-cottrell/47696651
http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/New-Jersey/Camden-County-NJ/Vincent-E-Cottrell.8077319.html

Arrest Information:

Name: Vincent E Cottrell

Location: Camden, New Jersey

Age: 33 years

Processing Date: 02-03-2010

Booking Charges:

2C:20-4 THEFT BY DECEPTION

2C:20-2B THEFT

2C:45-3 VIOLATION OF PROBATION OR SUSPENDED SENTENCE

2C:21-5B(2) BAD CHECK

Race: White

Ethnicity: White

Gender: Male

Hair Color: Brown

Eye Color: Brown

Height: 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)

Weight: 240 lb (109 kg)

Birth date: 3/30/1976

SBI Number: 000834031C

Admission Date: 8/20/2010

Current Facility: Paroled from CRAF

Current Max Release Date: 10/27/2012

Current Parole Eligibility Date: N/A

Sentence Information:

Offense	Offense Date	Sentence Date	County of Commitment	Commitment Order	Mandatory Minimum Term	Maximum Term
1 count of : 2C:21-5*4 Bad Checks:No Account(>$200 - < $1000)/4	November 14, 2009	August 20, 2010	Camden	10-04-00401-I	None	12 Months
1 count of : 2C:20-4*3 Theft by Deception /3	March 25, 2008	August 20, 2010	Camden	CAM090200690I	None	3 Years 6 Months
1 count of : 2C:35-10*3 CDS/Poss,Use or Being Under Influence /3	December 12, 2006	August 20, 2010	Camden	CAM070200521A	None	3 Years

Incarceration History:

Date In Custody	Date Out of Custody
August 20, 2010	March 10, 2011

Aliases:

• Cottrell, Thomas
• Daddino, Thomas

2010 Bankruptcy of BuildTREND principal

Shawn T. Gerety and his then wife with the same last name (now ex wife) filed for Chapter 7 personal bankruptcy in Pennsylvania Eastern Bankruptcy Court and received a discharge of all debts in May 2010.
http://www.plainsite.org/dockets/judpquy1/pennsylvania-eastern-bankruptcy-court//

BuildTREND's contractor license in Pennsylvania may have been fraudulently obtained as Mr. Gerety failed to disclose the bankruptcy when registering as a home improvement contractor.

Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act (HICPA) requires disclosure of bankruptcies within the prior 10 years.  See HICPA 73 P.S., Section 517.4 Procedures for registration as a contractor (a) (1) (vii)

BuildTREND has also not disclosed that corporate Vice President Vincent Cottrell has a criminal record for "theft" and "theft by deception" in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which appears to be an independent HICPA violation.

9/22/2015 update:

In addition to their 2010 bankruptcy together, Ms. Gerety had also filed for another Chapter 7 discharge of personal debts in July 2000.

We are hearing from sub-contractors that Gerety's wife has had a role in managing finances and accounting for BuildTrend and other businesses.

9/27/2015 update: 

Ms. Gerety contacted this blog to deny all involvement with BuildTrend and post comments. She subsequently claims comments were posted without her permission. All comments from her are now removed and references above are all to documents in the public domain already.

Lawsuit reveals BuildTREND's debts & contracts with Cottrell

Shawn T. Gerety and BuildTREND are defendants in a civil action filed in Delaware County PA in January 2015 by former BuildTREND Vice President Vincent Cottrell.

The complaint accuses BuildTREND of fraud, claims "BuildTREND owed subcontractors in excess of $600,000" and includes Cottrell's employment contract with BuildTREND.

The contracts between Shawn Gerety / BuildTREND and Cottrell's entities acknowledge that Cottrell is an "Acting Vice President" of BuildTREND and describe a plan for Cottrell to receive compensation of a regular draw and commissions based on collections of "newly sold contracts, change orders, referrals and additional work" with payments due to Cottrell "by the end of business each Friday following actual date of contract and or change order signing and deposits paid by clients to BuildTREND."

The performance incentives that Gerety created for Cottrell with this contract were to maximize sales, change orders and collections or payments from customers, rather than performance of  project work.

Read the full complaint here:
http://roam.co.delaware.pa.us/delco/search.do?indexName=delcoimages&lq=EventEntryID%3A7282492

Defendant                                              Plantiff

BuildTREND Construction LLC

Shawn T. Gerety is the owner of BuildTREND Construction which has registered addresses of 283 Black Oak Drive, Lancaster, PA 17062 and 1960 Horseshoe Road, Lancaster PA 17602.

BuildTREND is a registered contractor in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware under license numbers: PA073348, NJ1613239 and DE2011600708

www.buildtrend.com is a slick site. Do any of the images represent actual BuildTREND projects?