TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach is suing a tree trimming company out of Missouri for allegedly engaging in aggressive, deceptive, and unconscionable door-to-door sales tactics targeting elderly residents in Manhattan, Kansas.
According to Kobach’s office, the lawsuit has been filed in the Riley Co. District Court. The suit names M.GC Construction LLC; its owner Nathan Leavy; and four of its employees as defendants. The State alleges the defendants violated the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA) and the Kansas Door-to-Door Sales Act by failing to provide mandatory cancellation notices and charging high prices for work provided.
“My office will not tolerate predatory businesses that target our senior citizens. We are taking action to ensure they are held personally accountable and are barred from conducting door-to-door sales in Kansas.”
The petition outlines a scheme where defendants solicited tree-trimming services door-to-door without the required municipal permits from the City of Manhattan in early 2025.
According to the petition, the defendants allegedly pressured consumers to write checks to them personally rather than to the business. This tactic was suspectedly used to cash checks immediately at local banks, preventing consumers from issuing stop-payment orders once they realized they had been scammed.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach sues Missouri construction company for allegedly exploiting elderly residents in Manhattan.(WIBW/Eric Ives)
Kobach stated that in one instance, a 75-year-old consumer was charged a total of $31,000 for tree work that a local arborist later valued at approximately $4,500. The defendants are accused of failing to provide consumers with the legally required verbal and written notice of their three-day right to cancel the transaction, which is statutorily required in all door-to-door sales.
The lawsuit seeks civil penalties as well as enhanced penalties for violations committed against the protected consumers. Kobach is also seeking a permanent injunction that would ban all five individually named defendants, not just the company, from ever engaging in door-to-door sales in Kansas again.
A copy of the petition is available here.
Consumers who believe they have been victimized by M.GC Construction LLC or similar door-to-door schemes are encouraged to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office at www.ag.ks.gov or by calling 1-800-432-2310.
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