Contractor Scams Family from Germany, Keeps 800,000 Rubles

The story of the Gerdt couple stands out from the mass of typical construction disputes. Having moved to Russia from Germany, the family used what seemed like a safe scheme. They started building a house using their own funds and did not entrust the entire amount to the contractor. But even this phased payment did not protect them from losing nearly a million rubles ($8,900). How did this happen and why can«t the new homeowners get their money back even after winning a court case? Our colleagues at 72.RU report.

Andrei and Natalya Gerdt spent almost their entire adult lives in Germany. Their two children were born and grew up there. The decision to move to Russia was made shortly after the start of the SMO (special military operation), and it was not spontaneous. The couple realized they no longer shared the principles of the state where they had lived for decades.

For their move, the ethnic Germans chose Tyumen Oblast. The couple themselves were born in Kazakhstan, where Andrei received his education. After moving to Germany, he confirmed his qualifications and worked for many years as a fitter-miller. The head of the family earned a living with the same trade in Russia until he broke his leg. His wife is a choreography teacher; in their new location, she is currently setting up the household and managing the home.

After looking at a plot in the suburbs, the family decided to build a country house.

«In April 2023, our family started building a house in the settlement. We contacted one builder (an individual. — Editor«s note) and signed a contract with him. Subsequently, without our consent, he brought in another person, Valery Opalev, who was supposedly his partner. During construction, we transferred money to him for the purchase of building materials. We never saw those materials. No one returned the money that was supposed to be spent on them either,» Andrei Gerdt recounts.

In total, the couple lost more than 800,000 rubles ($8,900). After the foundation was poured, Andrei terminated the contract. The person he initially trusted with building his house returned all the money he had received but not spent on its intended purpose over the past years, but his partner blacklisted the former client and stopped answering calls.

«We realized we had been deceived. We decided to at least get back the money we had invested and went to court, which ruled in our favor (a copy of the document is available to the editorial board). After that, enforcement proceedings were initiated. It was handed over to bailiffs,» Andrei Gerdt asserts.

Court costs were added to the principal debt amount. All of the debtor«s accounts are now frozen. According to official information provided to the Gerdt couple, the man only owns an old 1993 SUV. He has no real estate. The bailiffs also seized the car, and the debtor has been temporarily banned from leaving Russia.

«He calmly drives around in a Toyota Land Cruiser. Yes, the car is old, but it«s still worth money. I know he rents expensive houses and lives large, while we»re racking our brains over how to finish building our house,» Andrei complains.

Having lost contact with their debtor, the couple began searching for information about him online. They found out that in 2019, a man with exactly the same personal data was convicted of fraud. The materials of that case also involved money. According to the verdict, a namesake of Valery Opalev took money under the pretext of running a joint business and did not return it.

The 72.RU editorial board managed to get through to Valery Opalev. In a telephone conversation, he said that there is a court decision, he does not dispute it, and the bailiffs, according to him, have already begun to collect the debt.

«I am settling with the bailiffs, but I don«t know how they distribute the money they withhold from me. I have other debts too, so they probably distribute it somehow,» Valery Opalev stated his position.

According to the Kontur.Fokus service, Valery Andreyevich Opalev is an individual entrepreneur and is engaged in various transportation services. The publicly available information does not include financial reports, but there is data on account seizures and enforcement proceedings totaling 2.9 million rubles ($32,200).

In the information provided to Andrei and Natalya Gerdt by the bailiffs, all enforcement proceedings against the debtor are now consolidated into one totaling 1,984,913 rubles ($22,100).

«We have been desperately trying to fight this injustice for several years. We wrote to the prosecutor«s office, but that didn»t help get our money back, so we decided to contact the editorial board to draw attention to our story and warn others,» Andrei Gerdt explains his position.

In the near future, the head of the family plans to contact the bailiffs again to find out how they are handling his debtor. Andrei Gerdt claims that since the court decision took effect, he has not received a single kopeck from the agency.

Lawyers admit: anyone who decides to acquire a country home can fall into such a trap. There is no 100% guarantee of protecting the interests of future homeowners in the individual housing construction (IHC) sector today. The only advice experts give is not to pay the entire amount upfront, but to pay strictly in stages, based on completed work. In that case, the client risks losing only a small portion of their savings.

The Gerdt couple followed exactly that scheme, but even that did not save them. According to experts, when bailiffs start working, it often turns out that there is nothing to take from the debtor. As a result, he pays off the debt in dribs and drabs for years, and it is virtually impossible to punish him more severely within the law. If it is a dishonest contractor with legal entity status, lawyers recommend trying to initiate bankruptcy proceedings against him.

«In this case, the founders can be held subsidiarily liable so that the debts are repaid through the sale of their personal property. This method exists, but the bankruptcy process itself is quite lengthy and will require additional costs from the affected clients,» 72.RU was told by Artur Abamelikov, a lawyer.