Office of the
Illinois Attorney General
Kwame Raoul

Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul today filed a lawsuit against B.E.S.T. GDR LLC, doing business as Premium Home Service, and its Chief Executive Officer Yosef Bernath, alleging the business created thousands of online business profiles for home repair companies that did not exist. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) joined Raoul in filing the lawsuit against the online business based in Westchester, Illinois. 

“Premium Home Service spent years establishing fake businesses with fake reviews to lure in customers who were in need of home repairs,” Raoul said. “Individuals who scam the unsuspecting public have no place in our communities, and I appreciate the partnership of the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice in working to hold this company accountable.” 

The Attorney General’s office collaborated with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and DOJ on the lawsuit. 

“Premium Home Service’s use of fake business profiles and reviews violates federal and state laws, harming consumers and businesses,” said Christopher Mufarrige, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “The Trump-Vance FTC is committed to addressing deceptive conduct that harms the American people and undermines competition.”According to Raoul’s lawsuit, Premium Home Service falsely claims to have thousands of brick-and-mortar businesses around the country, offering common home repair services such as plumbing, electrical services and garage door repairs. Instead, the suit alleges, Premium Home Service created online home repair company business profiles typically using made-up names that frequently were not registered to do business. Many of the fake companies’ positive reviews and five-star ratings are alleged to have been fabricated by Premium Home Service or those acting on its behalf. 

Raoul’s lawsuit alleges Premium Home Service’s scheme lures consumers in with local phone numbers for what consumers think are local home repair businesses; the defendants allegedly maintained over 7,600 telephone numbers in over 250 area codes across the U.S. Consumers may find one of the defendants businesses listed at the top of an online search, as the defendants use search engine optimization techniques to promote higher placement in search results. When consumers call what they think are local businesses, their calls are routed to customer service representatives who typically are located overseas. The representatives attempt to sell consumers either a membership or a one-time fee for a service call, frequently collecting debit or credit card information when a sale is made. Then, the defendants outsource consumers’ service requests to third-party service providers. Many consumers have complained that such providers are unqualified, provide subpar services or fail to show up at all. Well over 100,000 consumers nationwide have been deceived into calling and purchasing home repair services and memberships since at least 2018. 

Raoul is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent further deceptive practices, civil penalties against the defendants and monetary relief for affected consumers. 

Supervising Attorney Janice Parker and Assistant Attorneys General Dale Lichtenstein and Amanda Palmer are handling the case for Raoul’s Consumer Fraud Bureau.