BALTIMORE — Two Carroll County, Maryland, plumbing companies and their owner have been ordered to pay more than $1 million after the state attorney general's office found work done by employees who were not licensed plumbers, The Baltimore Sun newspaper reported.

All State Plumbing Inc. and All State Plumbing, Heating & Cooling Inc. and their owner, Wayne Garrity of Hampstead, also charged consumers fees for permits that were never obtained and failed to schedule required inspections, according to a final order issued by the attorney general's Consumer Protection Division, the newspaper reported.

The Sun’s business reporter, Lorraine Mirabella, reported that Garrity and his companies must return all payments from consumers for unlicensed plumbing services and un-issued permits, with an initial restitution payment of $250,000, the attorney general's office said Wednesday.  The order also requires payment of a civil penalty of $707,900 and costs of $65,129.54.

The consumer protection division found at least 7,079 violations of the state's Consumer Protection Act, including more than 6,000 involving one employee who worked for more than five years without a plumber's license, Mirabella reported. The companies committed another 692 violations by installing gas or electric water heaters in consumers' homes, failing to schedule inspections and charging $150 each for permits that were never obtained.

The Sun’s full story may be found at http://bit.ly/Up6kOz.