WASHINGTON — Several D.C. residents are uniting against developers they say destroyed their houses. The homeowner leading this charge is a woman WUSA9 profiled in a 3-year- long investigation into the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, an agency the DC Council voted to split into two separate agencies after deciding it was too large, too dysfunctional, and putting too many residents in danger.
Since 2017, Mamie Preston has been battling for help fixing her home's crumbling foundation. WUSA9 first met Preston in 2019, two years after the foundation had started buckling, forcing her neighbors to evacuate when walls started sheering away from the home itself.
Now, Preston is getting her day in court, suing Todd Ragamov -- the former owner of 3644 13th Street, LLC -- for an estimated $400,000 in damages to her home. City officials told WUSA9 that Ragamov falsified construction documents to get a permit to flip a rowhouse next to Preston. Contractors, who were operating without insurance, illegally dug under the foundation compromising homes on both sides.
"I'm lucky I'm still in my home," Preston said.
Ragamov is charged with 10 counts including fraud, negligence, and emotional distress. Walking into court Monday, he declined to answer any questions from WUSA9's reporter.
WUSA9 contacted Ragamov's attorney, James Loots, who said his client was never at fault and the LLC was only ever cited one infraction. At the time, DCRA said they issued $18,000 in fines, but Loots provided WUSA9 with a March 2019 document showing a deal with DCRA. The agency and the developer settled for $1,527 and according to the court papers the agency agreed to “file a motion to vacate the final order and motion to dismiss its case against the developer of the property.”
However, according to court documents, Ragamov engages in business through at least 10 different corporate entities. WUSA9 followed up with the Department of Buildings and found $20,000 was paid in fines, including penalties, by one of Ragamov’s other corporate entities.
Preston isn't fighting alone. She's leading a group of other homeowners who find themselves in similar situations. On Sunday, the group gathered outside of Preston's home blanketed in banners bashing the DOB and a D.C. developer.
"We all suffer from the same problem: corrupt or incompetent developers slash contractors slash inspectors," Preston said.
Ragamov has since sold the property in question. Construction has been paused for two years and the new owners were ordered to put beams in to stabilize the middle rowhouse. Ragamov is still working in the city operating under 10 different companies.
Preston is also taking aim at the architects for aiding and abetting in negligence. Her fight for a safe home continues as the group plans a collective action to protect their properties.
“We need to expose loudly throughout the city these contractors, these developers, these inspectors ... so people do not buy from them or utilize them moving forward," Preston said.
The trial is expected to last 10 days wrapping up around Nov. 1.
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