A New Rochelle homeowner claims that a Yonkers contractor he hired for a nearly $500,000 home renovations project diverted the down payment and failed to complete the work.
Anil A. Thomas accused ABA Quality Construction and company president Salim Aba and administrator Devis Plaku of fraud, in a complaint filed on April 10 in Westchester Supreme Court.
“Defendants failed to mobilize as promised,” the complaint states, “and failed to prosecute the work with reasonable diligence.”
Aba formed ABA in 2019, according to a state registration record, and has worked as a manager of several restaurants, according to a LinkedIn profile.
The New Rochelle house is on Kensington Oval, along Long Island Sound near Davenport Park. Thomas and his wife bought the property for $1.85 million in 2024.
In June 2025, Thomas hired ABA construction to renovate the house for $473,370, according to the complaint. The job was supposed to be completed within 50 business days.
The lawsuit does not say how Thomas found ABA or why he chose the contractor.
The contract required a $142,000 down payment, and according to the complaint Plaku instructed Thomas to make the payment to a Lyndhurst, New Jersey contractor that “is part of a merger with ABA Quality Constructions.”
Thomas wired the money to the New Jersey company on June 16. Since then, ABA has allegedly failed to provide the necessary materials and staffing or make meaningful progress.
Plaku stated in an email that he is an independent estimator who prepared construction estimates for the job, he was never a part of ABA Quality Construction Management, and he played no role in managing the $142,000 deposit.
Thomas terminated the project on Nov. 20. and his attorney has demanded the return of the down payment and an accounting of project expenses.
ABA responded on Dec 12 that it did not receive the deposit, according to the complaint, and that Thomas had knowingly wired the money to the New Jersey company over which ABA had no control.
Meanwhile, a subcontractor has demanded $59,000 for materials and labor furnished for the project, the complaint states, the house is uninhabitable, and new contractors will have to be paid to “complete and correct” the work.
Thomas accused ABA and its executives of breach of contract, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, and deceptive business practices. He is demanding the return of the $142,000 down payment and $300,000 for damages.
“I have never attempted to mislead or defraud anyone,” Plaku said, “and I should not be held responsible for matters outside my scope of work, nor should my name be associated with these allegations.”
ABA did not reply to a message asking for its side of the story.
