Virginia contractor at center of WUSA9 investigation indicted by grand jury

VIRGINIA, USA — The Virginia-based contractor at the center of a yearlong WUSA9 investigation has been formally indicted by a grand jury. Richard Craig Tadlock was indicted May 24 on six criminal charges, including advance pay and obtaining money under false pretenses, documents showed.  The case now heads to trial.

“All of the things we were being told about this person's experience, their knowledge, their capacity, their ability to build a house like this.  We didn't contemplate all of that might not be true,” said James Ferrell, one of the families that fired Tadlock after they alleged the contractor failed to complete construction on their house.

WUSA9 reached out to Tadlock multiple times for comment. None of the calls were returned. In prior interviews and in court proceedings, Tadlock has denied the allegations.

“These people are lying and conniving people," said Tadlock during a phone interview with WUSA9’s Larry Miller in the summer of 2023.

A report, obtained by WUSA9, also showed that Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupation Regulation found Tadlock had violated state regulations by "the retention or misapplication of funds, for which work is either not performed or performed only in part."

The contractor could lose his license to build houses in Virginia at a hearing later this year.

"Look inside yourself. Look in your gut. Do you really want to be associated with defrauding people and taking their money?" asked Joy Ditto, who hired Tadlock to construct a new house for her family that was never built.