Pocatello contractor accused of defrauding homeowners also found to be misusing company name
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POCATELLO – A man who has been criminally charged for defrauding homeowners was also found to have no legal right to use the business name he used while allegedly committing fraud.
Glendon Ashley Smith, 48, was charged in early June with seven felony counts of grand theft after seven homeowners accused him of defrauding them for more than $64,000 combined. In March 2024, he was found to be improperly using the “Smith Roofing” trade name in U.S. District Court when it ruled in favor of Smith Roofing and Siding, a family-run business based out of Rigby, which is not affiliated with him.
Despite this ruling by the court, Glendon continued to conduct business under the Smith Roofing trade name. This May, he was found to be in contempt of court for failing to comply with the court’s order.
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Smith Roofing and Siding LLC got its start over five decades ago when Lynn and Betty Smith moved to Rigby from California. Lynn started a “one-man band,” his daughter Cathy Morgan said.
“It grew from just being him, to some employees, to some trucks, a shop, and (so) on,” Cathy said.
During that time, the business was known as Smith Roofing, and it still carries that name.
While they were growing up, Cathy and her siblings worked for the family business, Cathy most often working in the office while her brothers went out on roofing jobs.
Around 30 years from the start of the business, Lynn and Betty divorced. Lynn owned more businesses than just Smith Roofing, so he left the business to Betty and the oldest son, Todd Smith. Cathy stepped away from the business to raise her kids, but has since come back and co-owns the business with her mom and brother.
Once Todd became a co-owner, he began to take more commercial roofing jobs, increasing the name recognition of Smith Roofing.
“They worked locally for a long, long, long time and built the business and our reputation. We had a good reputation, and it’s just grown since then, and it’s just a nice family-run business,” Cathy said.
In a news release, the family’s attorney, Jared Allen, said Glendon started his business in Pocatello in late 2021.
“In addition to using the same trade name, Glen Smith adopted a stylized trademark that mimicked the trademark used by Smith Roofing since 2008. Glen Smith also established multiple websites marketing the same services as Smith Roofing in the same geographic area,” the release reads.
According to Cathy and Todd, their business began to be mistaken for Glendon’s.
“We started getting a couple phone calls from his clients, saying, ‘How come you’re not coming back?’ or ‘How come you didn’t do this?’ … and they’re just mad, frustrated, calling, and we had to explain to them that we didn’t even know they existed,” Cathy said.
“I don’t know exactly what his motivation was, other than it would just give him instant credibility that he has experience in the roofing business,” Todd said.
Court records show that the case entered default judgment against Glendon after he never filed a corporate disclosure statement. An employee asked for a 30-day extension on his behalf in September 2023, saying that Glendon “suffered multiple health issues over the past few months and was unable to keep track of the needed documents and information on this case.”
But the deadline for that extension came and went, eventually leading to the default judgement in March 2024. This ordered Glendon to cease using the Smith Roofing trade name, along with websites and other materials associated with it.
Glendon did not comply with this judgement. In March of this year, Smith Roofing asked the court to sanction Glendon and his business for violating its judgment. In May, he was found to be in contempt of court for his continued use of Smith Roofing’s name.
Both Cathy and Todd hope that the confusion caused by Glendon’s use of the Smith Roofing trade name will be cleared up by the court’s latest judgment.
While Glendon has been charged with seven felony counts of grand theft, it does not necessarily mean he committed those crimes. Everyone is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.