WINDHAM – The four-year legal imbroglio that has consumed Kaile Warren ever since he was charged with defrauding investors in his national handyman company, Rent-A-Husband, may have finally come to an end.

On Feb. 28, Warren reached a confidential settlement with Ace Hardware and the two law firms, Preti Flaherty and Marcus Clegg & Mistretta, that had drafted investment contracts and agreements for him. Then on March 4, the attorney general’s office, which had slapped Warren with a criminal indictment in late 2009 only to drop the charges in 2011, dismissed its subsequent civil action against him.

Under the terms of the consent judgment, Warren is to transfer just under $2 million to the state, which will distribute the money to his investors.

Warren, a former Windham town councilor who faced the prospect of 15 years in jail if convicted of securities fraud only several years ago, said he is now “happily moving on with my life.”

“I’m looking forward to a very bright future,” the resident of Gin Mill Lane in North Windham said.

Warren, who was outspoken when charged with fraud in 2009, inviting reporters to his home and railing against his legal advisers, declined to comment on the settlement with Ace Hardware and his two former law firms. According to John Aromando, the attorney representing the Portland-based Preti Flaherty law firm in the matter, the settlement is governed by a strict confidentiality agreement.

The attorneys representing Ace Hardware and Marcus Clegg & Mistretta, which also represented Warren in his defense, could not be reached for comment.

According to court documents, Warren’s settlement with the state bars him, with several exceptions, from personally selling securities or promissory notes on investment properties in the state of Maine. Warren’s businesses, Rent-a-Husband and KW Enterprises, however, “are free to lawfully offer or sell securities in the state of Maine,” according to the agreement.

“The intent of this injunction is not to terminate the business activities of defendants or to prevent them from lawfully offering or selling franchises,” the settlement reads.

Assistant Attorney General Carrie Carney said that Warren, not his businesses, is barred from business activities because he had engaged in misbehavior.

“As far as Mr. Warren, he was the one who seemed to be the one who was engaging in the conduct that was inappropriate,” Carney said. “That’s why there’s a permanent bar for him.”

Warren said that he was not concerned about the injunction.

“I don’t have any intention to sell securities,” he said.

“My company, KW Enterprises, can sell them, and I’m the only owner of that company,” he added.

According to the settlement, Warren must pay $1,994,657.08 to the state within 15 days after his attorney receives the funds from his settlement with Ace Hardware and the two law firms. The state will then distribute the money to dozens of individuals who invested in Rent-A-Husband. In exchange, the investors must release Warren and his business from legal liability in order to receive their money. They may elect to release Ace Hardware, Preti Flaherty, and Marcus Clegg & Mistretta, as well, although it is not required. Also, investors have the option of retaining their investment in Rent-A-Husband.

Or, according to Carney, the investors could decline to sign the release and sue Warren for damages.

Lane Hiltunen, the Windham investor who publicly charged Warren of sweet-talking him out of a $10,000 investment with heady promises of big deals with Ace Hardware, said he would happily sign the release to get his money back. Hiltunen, a columnist for the Lakes Region Weekly, said he received a letter from the attorney general’s office disclosing the terms of the consent judgment on March 19.

“I’d given up and my best hope was to get pennies on the dollar,” said Hiltunen. “I’ll take my $10,000 and run, because to get any more money wouldn’t be worth it with the legal costs.

“And after the way we’re going through oil and propane this winter, it’s going to be welcome,” Hiltunen added.

The trouble for Warren started when a half-dozen irate Rent-A-Husband promissory note holders complained in the summer of 2009 to state officials that Warren was not paying them back. Warren had made a name for himself in Maine and around the country with appearances as the home improvement expert on “The Early Show” on CBS. He also appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and CNBC’s “The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch” sharing his rags-to-riches story and promoting the Rent-A-Husband brand. When Warren’s business came under scrutiny from regulators and investors, local and national news reporters caught wind of the nonpayment inquiry into Rent-A-Husband and Warren’s world fell apart. Then the indictments came.

In early 2011, Warren’s fortunes changed for the better when Attorney General Janet Mills, who brought the original charges against Warren, was replaced with Bill Schneider. Almost immediately, Schneider dropped the charges. Schneider said the state would have a hard time proving the charges against Warren, since Warren was acting on the advice and counsel of lawyers, who should have steered him clear of any problems.

The attorney general’s office only let Warren off on the condition that if he were to regain his financial footing, he would return $2 million to Rent-A-Husband investors. So, in spring 2011, with the criminal charges dropped, Warren filed the civil suit against Preti Flaherty, Marcus Clegg & Mistretta and Ace Hardware, which worked with Warren on a plan to open several Rent-A-Husband franchises at Ace-owned stores throughout the country.

Reflecting on the saga, Warren said that he had almost no regrets.

“I don’t regret growing Rent-A-Husband,” he said. “I regret that people didn’t do the right thing all along, and I think the fact that the attorney general dropped the case kind of tells you what that situation is about.”

Warren said he had no comment on the future activities of Rent-A-Husband.

“I intend to take a year and breathe and move on with my life,” he said.

Kaile Warren

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