- December 21, 2024
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The abrupt July closure of a Sarasota window and door business has led to multiple law enforcement investigations and dozens of complaints from customers claiming they are out thousands of dollars.
Allegations against the company, Sash & Sill, and its owner, Todd Hoch, include:
Hoch, in a July 23 email response to questions from the Business Observer, denies he intended to defraud customers or steal their money. He instead said he sees himself as a business owner who has fallen on hard times and said he is "heartbroken" over the current state of affairs.
Sarasota resident Walt Bower said he signed a contract in May with Sash & Sill. He had used the company a few years ago to install a back door.
“There were no warning signs,” Bower said. “They did great work.”
When he needed a new front door, he turned again to Sash & Sill. Using a credit card, he put down a $1,725 deposit.
Then, he said, he received an email July 10 from Hoch saying the business closed permanently “because of unforeseen circumstances” that “impacted our financial stability, forcing us to file for bankruptcy.”
There are no court records showing Hoch filed for bankruptcy, and the business owner confirmed to the Business Observer he has not filed for bankruptcy — yet.
Bower said he's out the $1,725 deposit he put down for the door, and when he checked with a salesperson he found the item was never even ordered. Since he put the deposit on a credit card and disputed the charges within 60 days, he said he has a chance of getting the money back.
A fellow Sash & Sill customer, meanwhile, created a private Facebook group that has drawn more than 100 clients and employees to help each other navigate next steps. Bower, who has connected with many in the group, said he appears to be one of the more fortunate ones.
“The highest number I’ve heard so far was $75,000,” a deposit for products he said was made with a cashier’s check.
“Whether it was $10 or $10,000, each person was affected by this,” he added.
A Sarasota couple impacted by the closure filed a complaint against Hoch in small claims court in mid-July. Jeff and Alicia Schmidt of Palmer Ranch said they paid a deposit of $7,500 by check for seven windows for their home on March 29.
They received the July 10 email from Hoch announcing Sash & Sill was closing, according to the complaint. Two days later, they said they were informed by a sales consultant their order was never placed. A pretrial conference is scheduled in that case for Aug. 14, court records show.
Hoch is also embroiled in several other court proceedings over the handling of his business.
For one, he is being sued for breach of fiduciary duty in Sarasota by a man who claims to be the co-owner of the business. Adalberto Salazar, who says he owns 38-40% of Sash & Sill, filed a complaint in September 2023 alleging Hoch had breached his fiduciary duty. He amended the complaint in June after he said Hoch informed him the company could not pay more than $160,000 it owed a vendor and the vendor would be pursuing legal action against Salazar.
Sash & Sill took in $3.9 million and made net income of $779,256.43 in 2021, according to company records provided by Salazar in court filings. At the time, Hoch told Salazar the company suffered losses, despite the financial reporting, Salazar’s lawsuit alleges.
In 2022, “with virtually identical gross revenue, the company suffered a reported loss of $875,473.14,” Salazar said in his court filing, in which he is seeking damages exceeding $50,000.
“On information and belief, Hoch is diverting company funds for his personal benefit,” Salazar alleges in his lawsuit.
Hoch refuted those allegations in his July 23 email to the Business Observer.
“The lawsuit from Mr. Salazar is frivolous. He was an original partner who was removed from his position. He has not been involved since 2018,” Hoch wrote. “I contributed over $250k of my personal funds and declined multiple requests for contributions when the company had cash gap issues. Originally, the cost to defend the case was reasonable. The cost increased after an amendment was filed. I believe the strategy was to make it more costly to defend than it would be to settle. I am not able to cover the cost personally or as a company.”
Hoch is also being sued in Monroe County, New York, where he received loans from two companies, neither of which he has been able to pay back, according to court records. In one case a judge ordered him to pay more than $150,000 to a company on Long Island. Also, in January, Sash & Sill settled with another lender, Fusion Funding, in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York, for an undisclosed amount, court records show.
Hoch didn't return a phone call seeking comment, but instead sent an email.
“There was never intent to defraud or steal money,” Hoch wrote. “I am utilizing the few remaining resources to the best of my ability.”
While his July 10 email to customers informed them he would be filing for bankruptcy, he has not done so as of July 25 — a move he said is strategic.
“I have not filed bankruptcy,” Hoch said. “We are wrapping up as many jobs as possible prior to filing.”
Hoch said in his email to customers that he is “currently working on getting as many of your projects completed as possible,” noting he would reach out with updates.
He added: “The office has been closed to reduce overhead and all non-production staff are no longer with us.”
Sash & Sill is at 501 Interstate Court, east of Interstate 75 near Fruitville Road. A knock on the office door went unanswered on July 23, and a sign on the door that day said the office was closed for the July 4 holiday. Hoch said the location is permanently closed to the public.
“We had a series of events that we could not overcome. I am now part of the majority of business owners that have to shut the doors,” Hoch said. “I spent eight years of blood, sweat and tears building a great business. We had an excellent team that truly cared about each other and our customers. It feels like losing a child.”
What is most difficult, he said, is knowing he has let down his customers.
“There are hundreds of previous customers and people that know me to verify that I had the best of intentions,” Hoch said. “The hardest part of this is the weight of having customers that are going through this. I am heartbroken.”
Multiple agencies are looking into Sash & Sill after clients turned to state and local authorities for assistance in the aftermath of the business closing.
The Florida Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division said it is involved in an “ongoing investigation” into Sash & Sill. “To date we have received more than 30 complaints,” Chad Sizemore, spokesperson for the AG's office, said in a July 24 email.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office has nine complaints against Sash & Sill and Hoch and is in the early stages of the investigation as of July 23, according to spokesperson Dana Judge.
While Florida's Department of Business and Professional Regulation said it cannot confirm or deny anything regarding Hoch and the business, about 10 people in the Facebook group say they have filed complaints against the business there as well.
For his part, Bower said he has contacted the attorney general, Better Business Bureau, sheriff’s office and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation. "You name it, I've probably done it," Bower said.
In the meantime, he has not turned elsewhere to get a new door.
“After having this experience, I’m like, who can I trust? Do I just need to go to Lowe’s or Home Depot and install it myself? Is this going to happen again?” Bower said. “Now I’m going to be extra leery.”
This article originally appeared on sister site BusinessObserverFL.com.
