Home Sweet Cell

Andrew and Lucy Young’s dream home remains nothing but an overgrown five-acre plot in Montgomery County, littered with rotting lumber and a concrete slab of questionable worth, the detritus of a deal with contractor David Allen Zovath gone bad. But if the Youngs are no closer to corralling the slippery Zovath into court to answer their accusations of deceptive trade and theft — his bankruptcy filing has delayed the damage suits of the Youngs and other complainants — they may take some comfort in knowing that Zovath’s not exactly living it up in his River Oaks-area dream home, either. Since July 10, Zovath has been a guest — well, a prisoner — of Houston’s federal detention center.

A federal grand jury indicted Zovath on four charges. Half of them seem to spring from the Youngs’ case via their lawyer, Robert Linkin (see “The Dream Home: A Cautionary Tale,” by Brad Tyer, May 18). Linkin reported discrepancies and apparent lies in Zovath’s Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing, in which Zovath claimed to have been subject to no lawsuits in the previous year (at least 17 such cases were a matter of public record). In the same documents, the red Corvette-driving Zovath claimed to own no household goods, no automobiles, no office equipment, no nothing. Linkin says he brought these issues to the attention of U.S. district court, where Zovath now stands charged with concealing assets and making false statements in bankruptcy.

A third count comes in slightly ballsier keeping with Zovath’s established pattern of operating under dozens of different business names. He’s accused of forging bankruptcy Judge Letitia Clark’s signature as part of an attempt to secure a $10,000 personal loan from MetroBank. The alleged forgery was on a document indicating that he had never previously filed for bankruptcy (in fact, he had filed five years ago). Clark, by former Zovath attorney Arthur Moure’s account, was not amused, and found Zovath in contempt of court.

Last, but not likely least, Zovath is saddled with a count of bank fraud for failing to disclose the existence of the prior bankruptcy, a charge that carries up to 30 years’ imprisonment and a $1 million fine. The other three charges carry total potential penalties of 15 years and $750,000.

Zovath operated David Allen Homes, a custom builder, with his wife, Lynn S. Marks, a motivational lecturer and author of the self-published Messages from God. The Youngs and some other area clients accused Zovath and Marks of routinely cutting contractual corners with subpar materials and failing to pay their subcontractors.

The Youngs and others were left with liens on their properties long after the building sites had been abandoned by Zovath. During the disputes, Bill Rice, an independent inspector hired by the Youngs, was told in a late-night phone call from Zovath, “Nobody calls me a crook, guy. Nobody. I’m gonna go after every inch you own. I’m gonna keep you in court forever until I destroy you.”

Zovath, of course, is in no position now to respond to the criminal allegations, and he is awaiting a new court-appointed attorney. He pleaded not guilty and had bond set at $100,000. U.S. District Judge David Hittner had scheduled trial for Tuesday, September 5, but the case has been continued. At press time, no new trial date had been set, and Zovath remained jailed.

Linkin, meanwhile, says he’ll continue trying to get Zovath’s already sketchy bankruptcy converted to Chapter 7 status in order to start liquidating and distributing the builder’s assets.

He knows, though, that he’s going to have to stand in line to get his shot at the man who proved better at eluding would-be homeowners and debt-collecting subcontractors than warrant-wielding federal marshals. At least Linkin now knows where Zovath lives. And, Linkin says, “It couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.”

Zovath begs to agree, with the nice-guy part, at least. In a letter addressed to Judge Hittner, Zovath pleads: “I have called my mother and asked her to call the church of OUR LADY OF FATIMA and LAKEWOOD CHURCH and have them pray for myself, my family and you. At OUR LADY OF FATIMA I was an Alter [sic] Boy for 8 years.”