A midcoast painting contractor has filed for bankruptcy in federal court after numerous claims were filed against him in Knox County for taking money for work he never did.
Roland Pease filed Dec. 17 for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Bangor. In the filing, his liabilities and assets are estimated at between $100,000 and $150,000. The number of creditors is listed as fewer than 50.
Listed as creditors for unsecured claims were at least five customers who had paid for their houses to be painted but the work was not done. The bankruptcy filing states that unsecured creditors are unlikely to get any money.
There are five pending small claims cases in the state court in Knox County.
Pease had said in October he was trying to repay people and that the scarcity of qualified workers led to the problem.
“I do owe some people. I’m paying them back,” he said in October.
Candace Garrison of Cushing filed a civil complaint Aug. 6. Garrison alleges that she gave Pease a check for $13,925 in September 2023 to paint her home. That amount was half of the total quoted by Pease for the job and he had requested half down before he started the project, according to the lawsuit.
Garrison states that Pease never began the work and stopped responding to her calls and emails by October 2024. She sent a letter dated April 2025, saying she was canceling the project and asked for a full refund. Pease did not acknowledge the letter or return the money, according to the small claims filing.
William and Jennifer Leszczynski of Thomaston filed a small claims complaint in the Knox court in January 2025 against Pease. Pease failed to attend a hearing in February and the judge ruled in favor of the Thomaston couple, ordering Pease to pay them $6,000.
The Thomaston couple claimed they paid him $6,287 as half of the project estimate in April 2023. He cashed the check immediately afterward but did not perform the work, according to the legal claim. William Leszczynski stated in paperwork filed in court that Pease had failed to return phone calls, texts and emails. When he was able to reach Pease, the Thomaston man said the contractor was evasive and then promised to pay in a few weeks but did not.
John Kerzee of Rockland filed a small claims complaint in January 2025 and a judge ruled in his favor following a February hearing that Pease did not attend. The judge ordered Pease to pay $3,197 to the homeowner. Kerzee stated in his complaint that he entered into a contract with Pease in November 2021 with the work to begin in the spring of 2022. Kerzee stated in court paperwork that he was given innumerable excuses by Pease and the work was not done.
Dorothy Hokkanen of Camden filed a small claims complaint in March 2025 seeking $6,210 she paid Pease to paint the trim of her home. Hokkanen told the court she had paid him in August 2023 as half down for the work. Pease said he expected to do the work in late 2023 or definitely in 2024, but it was not done and he did not respond to her calls, according to paperwork Hokkanen filed in court. Hokkanen received a judgment in her favor but later agreed to have the complaint dismissed after receiving payment from Pease.
In September 2025, Brody Longest of Rockport received a judgment in his favor after a small claims court hearing against Pease. The court ordered Pease to pay $3,935 for money he was given but work not done. Pease also failed to appear for that hearing. Longest had filed his complaint in August 2025. He stated in his complaint that he paid Pease the money in June 2022 and requested a refund in November 2024 when work was not done.
Pease said before the pandemic he had 12 workers and that has dropped to one worker at times. He said when he lost workers, he fell behind on projects but was working hard to catch up.
“I can’t find workers. People show up wearing flip-flops,” he said.
Pease said in October he has been in business since 1997 and has worked hard for customers. He said he could have filed for bankruptcy, but he intended to repay people.
A Zoom court meeting for creditors is scheduled for Jan. 23.
The Maine Legislature has considered bills that would license contractors but those efforts have failed. The latest effort came in 2024.
This story appears through a media partnership with Midcoast Villager.
