Framing contractor Mike German wants the Douglas County Attorney to build a case against the general contractor who wrote him a 13-hundred dollar bad check.

German says, “Either the general contractor will be forced to pay or sit in jail.” The Douglas County Attorney bad check division reports that seven subcontractors have submitted $15,800 in bad checks written by Kim Stewart of Prestine Construction.

Landscaper Josh Erspamer says he’s owed $4,500. Josh says, “If it happened to one person I could understand. But it happened to several people and thousands of dollars so she had to know what she was doing.”

Both the subcontractors and Six On Your Side have been unable to reach Stewart.

Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine says his office is investigating possible felony criminal charges against Stewart. Kleine says, “There’s a paper trail to follow and we have to show there’s some criminal intent.”

Stewart hired several subcontractors for home improvement jobs around the Omaha metro area. Subcontractors have filed liens on at least three homes. Mike German says, ‘That’s not what I want to do because it’s going after the homeowner not Kim Stewart.

Attorney Paul Lapuzza specializes in property law. He says homeowners can get liens removed if they’ve paid the general contractor in good faith. However it’s a complicated process. Here’s the options he says homeowners can take if unpaid subcontractors filed liens on their property.

"If the owner of real property believes that a recorded construction lien is improper, the property owner can, pursuant to §52-152, record a demand to institute judicial proceedings. The lien claimant then has 30 days to commence foreclosure. If the claimant does not do so, the lien is removed, automatically. This tends to be the easiest and cheapest way to dispose of an improper lien. "

"If time is of the essence, and the owner the cannot wait 30 days to dispose of the lien, §52-142 allows the owner to deposit with the Clerk of the District Court, in cash, certified check or Surety Bond an amount equal to 115% of the claimed lien. This automatically releases the lien . A Court can later determine whether the lien claimant or property owner is correct."