Jefferson Knapp, owner of Knappworks, LLC, illegally solicited the renovation work of the home I was purchasing with him as my Long & Foster buyer’s agent. Unbeknownst to me at the time, he was not licensed with the state of MD to perform home improvement work and, in fact, the state had forfeited his charter because he had bankrupted the company as a result of at least one lawsuit against him. When work began in February 2016, he did not provide a contract (also a violation of state law), only a written estimate and did not provide a payment or completion schedule. He very quickly requested three payments of $10, 000 each even though very little work had been done. He also requested $10, 000 for the purchase of kitchen cabinets, and as soon as he had collected the last of these payments in mid-March, he walked off my job to finish the renovation of his own home, which he denied, but was confirmed numerous times by his workers. I also saw his workers' vehicles at his home on multiple occasions. I tried for the next month to get him to return to my project because I had a very tight deadline prior to moving in, but he refused, saying there was nothing he could do until the cabinets arrived in two months. I created a 3-page list of 45 major items that could be completed independent of the cabinets but he ignored it. Finally, I was able to get him to provide one worker sporadically but not much was accomplished. The workers who did the plumbing and electrical work on my house were not licensed, nor was Jeff. Much of the work that was done was improper (wouldn't pass inspection) and had to be redone by other contractors. Jeff falsified my signature on the building permit with the town and applied under another company name, Knappcraft, using an expired MHIC number. Jeff also lied and told me that one of my heat pumps had died and suggested I replace both units at the same time since they were old. He gave me an exorbitant estimate which was suspect and I later found out was from a disreputable company. While I was replacing the two systems, pervasive black mold was discovered in the attic air handler and throughout the entire upstairs HVAC system and ducting. The pre-sale home inspector Jeff hired when he was acting as my real estate agent had done an incompetent and inadequate inspection and overlooked all the mold, coincidentally in the same unit that had supposedly died. Jeff knew I had a severe mold allergy (and wouldn’t have bought the house had there been mold) and he had been in the attic numerous times but never mentioned the moldy air handler or rusted-out overflow drain pan that he couldn't have missed (he is also a licensed home inspector trained to inspect these things). I suspect he wanted to get that air handler and associated ducting out of the house without me knowing about the mold, but he underestimated the extent and I was notified. Upon actual inspection by an independent HVAC specialist, it was determined that the heat pump in question had not failed, only the fan had, which was a minor repair, and it appeared to have been tampered with. As Jeff was completing his own home renovation, he demanded more money to return to my project, saying he would not continue work without it. I sent him a letter enumerating my complaints and told him I was already way out in front on payments for the work that had been done and that I would not make another payment until he had completed the work he had started (he had torn up various areas of the house), but he instead tore out my kitchen the following morning against my instructions. I terminated him that day and my lawyer sent him a letter seeking an accounting of all expenses and work done and a refund of excess payments collected but he didn't respond. I have since discovered that Jeff Knapp has been sued dozens of times, personally and professionally. I have worked with a number of the claimants on my project (and others who have been burned by him) and understand that what he did on my project is typical behavior for him.