Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita files lawsuits against alleged scam within tree removal companies
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and his team are taking matters into their own hands, filing four lawsuits against out of state companies.
These are all tree removal companies that Rokita’s office is alleging have targeted Hoosier storm victims with deceptive and unlicensed business practices.
One of the main accusations from the state is against Timbercut Tree Experts, Shade Tree Service Co., and Garrison Mckinney Tree and Bridge Services.
Rokita is claiming that these companies operated without required local licensing.
“If there’s a city, a town, a county, that has a licensing requirement for their contractors, if a company is not licensed locally, they are in violation of state law”, Rokita said.
Rokita’s team also claims that these companies used “high pressure tactics” to make residents feel like they needed to get these services.
They say that in Lake County, a lady was approached by a contractor from Garrison Mckinney Tree and Bridge Services.
They claim she was shown an iPad, with the salesperson barely looking at her trees, and telling her everything but what the job would be an how much it would cost.
They say the contractor did eventually get to a price.
Corrine Gilchrist is the Chief of Consumer Litigation in the office. She said, “It was $40,000. She explained that this would wipe out her retirement and he cut that price down to $35,000 but again because of the high pressure, telling her she’s potentially putting her neighbors at risk, putting others at the park near her home at risk, she felt pressure that she needed to act quickly.”
Rokita’s team also says Storm Support Emergency Tree Removal had contracts for a minimum eight-hour requirement for certain jobs but applied that to all employees the company would send out.
He went on to provide the example that if your property got four employees, you’d get a minimum charge of 32 hours even if they were just there for an hour and a half.
“That’s what storm support emergency tree removal is up to. My goal is to chase them out of the state. It is reprehensible what these people are doing”, Rokita said.
Rokita and his team encourage staying alert and reminding yourself that if something feels off, it probably is.
You’re also encouraged to call their office and connect so they can further assist.
Copyright 2026 WLFI. All rights reserved.