A Fairfax jury awarded over $1 Million in damages to a military family after finding a realtor and his supervising brokerage fraudulently induced them into hiring T&S Homebuilders, LLC and its founder Richard “Craig” Tadlock to build their former Springfield residence. Tadlock – believed to be a career scam-artist – was arrested in October 2023 and will stand trial in June on six criminal charges.
After hearing closing arguments by trial attorneys Timothy Bosson and Ryan McAnally, the jury found the brokerage – Long & Foster Real Estate – liable for constructive fraud and false advertising. The realtor, Johnny “JB” Benson, since-deceased, was found liable for actual fraud and false advertising. The jury awarded the Ferrells $869,000.00 in compensatory damages, and three years of pre-judgment interest. With the potential for attorney fees, the award is expected to far exceed $1 million.
In a statement, lead counsel Timothy Bosson called the verdict a significant victory for the Ferrells and would-be Virginia homeowners. “The law requires realtors and their supervising brokerages to act honestly in their advertising to the public and dealings with their clients. The jury’s verdict should serve as a warning to brokerages and realtors everywhere that deceptive and unethical conduct will not be tolerated. We are thrilled that justice prevailed and are only saddened it took three years of litigation and a jury verdict for Long & Foster to take accountability for their role in selling a scam builder.”
The couple – active-duty military attorneys James and Jenna Ferrell – alleged that JB Benson and Long & Foster advertised Tadlock and his company, T&S Homebuilders, LLC as an experienced, “quality builder,” despite being warned by past victims that Tadlock procured his contractor license by fraud, was unqualified to build homes, and had a long history of scamming homeowners. The Ferrells were under military orders to report to the Washington D.C. area and needed the home move-in ready by July 2022. Benson and Long & Foster listed the Springfield home as “to be built in 2021” and represented to the Ferrells that Tadlock would complete the home in just six months. Behind the scenes, Benson told other realtors that a T&S custom home build would take a minimum of 10-12 months and knew of other T&S buyers who waited over 18 months.
Benson’s representations and the involvement of an established, reputable brokerage like Long & Foster made the Ferrells – one of fourteen families the realtor and brokerage connected to T&S – feel comfortable enough to move forward with the build. Meanwhile, Benson and Long & Foster received a substantial commission from Tadlock on each new construction contract.
The Ferrells arrived in Virginia in July, expecting to move in. Instead, they were shocked to find the lot was still “literally just a pile of dirt” and had to obtain temporary housing through March of 2023. The project with T&S was plagued by unreasonable delays, accounting discrepancies, failed inspections, and obviously shoddy construction.
After firing T&S in 2023, the Ferrells were forced to hire another builder to complete the home and repair T&S’ poor workmanship. All told, the shoddy construction and excessive delays cost the Ferrells over $400,000.00 – wiping out two decades of life-savings.
After his arrest in October 2023, Tadlock was indicted by a Virginia grand jury on six criminal charges, including advance pay and obtaining money under false pretenses. After a state investigation, Virginia’s Contracting Board revoked T&S’ class A contractor license in March 2025.
The jury’s verdict against Benson and Long & Foster concludes a three-year long legal battle that began with the Ferrells filing suit in October 2023. Liability was vigorously contested by the Defendants, who repeatedly rejected settlement offers and dismissed the Ferrells’ case as “frivolous.”
Plaintiffs’ counsel conducted extensive discovery, including numerous third-party subpoenas and multiple motions to compel.
Emails produced by Long & Foster revealed that after the Ferrells signed on the deal, Benson privately joked with a coworker that deals were “so much easier” when the buyer did not have their own realtor to ask questions. The coworker responded surprised that the Ferrells had signed off on the deal – “what did you do, put duct tape over [Tadlock]’s mouth?”
Meanwhile Long & Foster disbursed commissions to Benson on the Ferrell and other T&S deals even though Benson failed to obtain written brokerage agreements or disclose his dual agency – each a violation of Long & Foster’s internal policies and Virginia law. Long & Foster never took disciplinary action against Benson.
Trial testimony established that Long & Foster’s supervising brokers neglected to investigate T&S’ numerous red flags – including T&S’ license holder quitting the business. Despite eventually learning of numerous lawsuits and complaints by former clients against T&S, Long & Foster continued working with T&S – even after Tadlock’s arrest in October 2023.
The six-day jury trial saw testimony from numerous witnesses, including past victims of Tadlock, a real estate expert, and a construction expert. Defendants’ counsel sought to pin blame on T&S or on the Ferrells for failing to realize the advertising and representations about T&S were unlikely to be true. The jury rejected these claims and found both Defendants liable.
Attorneys Timothy Bosson and Ryan McAnally represented the Ferrells. JB Benson’s estate and Long & Foster Real Estate were represented by Ward & Berry, PLLC.
For more information, see James Peter Ferrell and Jenna Carolyn Ferrell v. Sherry B. Benson, Administrator, Estate of Johnny W. Benson, and Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc., CL-2023-0014205, Circuit Court of Fairfax County.