CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – The day after Clarksville Now reported on a disabled veteran being ghosted by a national contractor, a former employee of Evolve Construction & Restoration shared that there are others who have faced the same problem.
As previously reported, in January 2025, Ryan Thompson and his wife entered into a contract to have Evolve repair storm damage to their home. Their representative with Evolve, Christopher Ghist, has now come forward, telling Clarksville Now that he met the Thompsons at their home, believing he was helping them recover from the storms. The Thompsons’ insurance company paid Evolve around $6,400 in February 2025 to begin repairs, but over a year later, the national contractor has yet to begin the work.
Ghist told Clarksville Now that there are others like the Thompsons in Montgomery County, including a veteran whose finances are falling apart while his wife is in Hospice care.
‘At first roofs were going on and there were happy clients’
Ghist said he was hired at Evolve Construction & Restoration in September 2024. When he started, Evolve was doing the repair work, which included working on and completing Ghist’s parents’ roof, as well as his neighbor’s roof.
“At first, roofs were going on and there were happy clients, and it seemed like this would be what I do for the rest of my life,” Ghist said.
Toward the end of 2024, Ghist said, he had gotten at least 40 households signed up with Evolve to provide repair services. But while he continued to sign people up, he also began receiving phone calls about delays.
Ghist said when he brought forward the customers’ concerns, as well as his own, his bosses at Evolve repeatedly told him they were just “waiting on supplements.”
When Ghist continued to receive concerned calls, he went back to management and asked what was going on. He said he became scared, because in one instance, he was accused of taking advantage of an elderly client, and in another, he was accused of insurance fraud.
Ghist said he was told that as a 1099 contractor, if he believed he needed a lawyer, he’d have to hire one himself.
Allegedly fired after speaking out against signing up more clientele
In May 2025, when he said he wouldn’t sign up any more clients before seeing his concerns addressed, Ghist was fired, he said.
“At the end of Monday meetings, there’s a section of time where they will allow you to ask questions and go on about what we’re running into in the field,” Ghist said.
“All I said was I’m being threatened for elderly abuse, I’m being threatened with insurance fraud, I’m having all of these things happen, and it seems like you guys don’t even care. I said I’m not signing anybody else up until we get some roofs on, because at that point, I think it was more than 40 to 50 roofs that needed to be put on.”
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When reached by Clarksville Now, Evolve confirmed that Ghist was let go in May 2025 but said the decision was part of a broader, strategic restructuring. They denied having 40 to 50 delayed roofing projects.
“We unequivocally state that Evolve Construction has no outstanding jobs in production in the Tennessee region and categorically refute any claims of 40-50 delayed roofs.”
23-year Army veteran says he also is waiting for roof
One of the houses that Ghist mentioned belongs to Keith Cherry. Cherry, a 23-year Army veteran whose wife is in Hospice care, said it’s been a constant struggle speaking with representatives with Evolve Construction over the last two years since this process began.
In April 2024, Cherry said, he and his wife’s property sustained storm damage to their roof, which led to water damage in their living room. In October 2024, Cherry had a representative with Evolve, which turned out to be Ghist, visit his home to inspect the damage and go over repair options.
In December 2024, Cherry paid Evolve $3,000 in his own money up-front, so that leaks from the roof damage wouldn’t cost him more in the long run.
On April 14, 2025, Cherry said, he was still waiting to hear back from Evolve following the $3,000 delivery of payment, however, the only conversation he had with the contractor was about the color of his roof selection. “That was it, there was nothing else,” he said. “I waited, and I waited and did not hear anything from them for about three to four months.”
Cherry said that’s when he called Ghist and found out he had been fired by Evolve. “He said, ‘Mr. Cherry, they fired me, and I’m glad you called me, because I couldn’t call you.‘”
Cherry said he called his insurance company to find a way forward. After a representative with his insurance visited his family’s home, Cherry collected a check in the amount of more than $4,700. Cherry’s insurance said the check was to fund the repair work and fix the damage to his home as quickly as possible, according to documents obtained by Clarksville Now.
Cherry said he continued moving forward with Evolve because he had already submitted a claim with Evolve listed.
Public adjuster given $4,700 check for repairs
On the $4,700 insurance check, Cherry said his name was listed, as well as the public adjuster recommended by Evolve for the repair work: Alex Guldshtadt with Nationwide Insurance Claims Advocates (NICA).
Cherry said Guldshtadt was listed as the coordinator between himself, his insurance provider, and Evolve. Guldshtadt reached out to Cherry to let him know that NICA had received the insurance ACV check issued for his home repairs. However, Guldshtadt said for the project to move forward, a couple of things would be needed, according to documents obtained by Clarksville Now:
- Endorsement of the check by Cherry.
- Sending the check to Cherry’s mortgage company and requesting their endorsement as well.
- Once the endorsements had been completed, return the check to NICA at their address at 4924 Balboa Blvd., Encino, CA.
Cherry said he followed the instructions, but instead of receiving the check back, his insurance company said it had been cashed. “I did what the letter told me to do,” he said. “I called my insurance and told them what had happened and asked what they could do.”
Cherry was told that since it NICA had cashed the check, there was nothing his insurance provider could do.
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His next move was to send two certified letters, one to Evolve for them to return the $3,000 he had paid them, and the other to NICA for them to return the $4,700.
His certified letter to Evolve was returned undelivered from their Nashville address listed at 40 Burton Hills Blvd. When Clarksville Now asked about their listed address in Nashville, as well as other letters returned undelivered, Evolve declined to respond. Clarksville Now has also reached out to Regus Management Group LLC, who manages the office space rental building at 40 Burton Hills Blvd., for comment.
Cherry eventually made contact with Guldshtadt, who told him that his $4,700 was in an escrow account. When Cherry asked what he had to do to get the funds back, he said that Guldshtadt connected him with a new Evolve Construction representative. However, they stopped responding to him, he said.
Clarksville Now reached out to Guldshtadt on April 28 with no response, but upon reaching out again on May 13, Guldshtadt said that after looking at his records, the payment was issued to Evolve.
Public adjuster previously listed as CEO of Evolve, accusations across 2 states
Guldshtadt was also used as the public adjuster in the case of Ryan Thompson. But it turned out that Guldshtadt was the registered CEO of Evolve Construction & Restoration, operating both companies: Evolve and NICA, according to previous reports, along with court filings in Michigan and in California, . Guldshtadt is identified in other court documents as Aleksandr Yefim Guldshtadt, Alex Gold, Gould or Guld.
While Guldshtadt had been listed as the CEO of Evolve on the State of Florida Division of Corporations webpage, the day after Clarksville Now’s report on March 5, the company filed an amended annual report on March 6 saying that Dallas Julian is the CEO. Evolve previously stated that Julian is the CEO of their restoration division.
When Clarksville Now asked Guldshtadt about previously being listed as the CEO for Evolve, he said he has never worked for Evolve and has only ever worked as a public adjuster. Clarksville Now also asked him about the court filings involving him across multiple states, and he declined to comment.
Who enforces rules on contractors in Tennessee?
On Sept. 19, 2025, Cherry filed a report with the Clarksville Police Department claiming fraud by a home improvement service provider. Clarksville Now confirmed with CPD that there is a report on file, and the investigation is ongoing.
Cherry also filed a complaint with the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors, under the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI). Clarksville Now confirmed Cherry’s complaint, and discovered another complaint filed by a third home owner from the Clarksville area against Evolve.
TDCI also confirmed that Evolve does not have a contracting license in the state of Tennessee. A contractor’s license is required prior to contracting (bidding or negotiating a price) whenever the total cost of the project is $25,000 or more. However, with the TDCI complaints filed against Evolve, they involved contracts under $25,000.
When asked whose jurisdiction the complaints fall under, TDCI spokesperson Kevin Walters said the complainants can file a police report if they believe a crime has been committed, or, if not, the state civil courts are at their disposal.
That has happened in Dickson County, where a complaint filed against Evolve by a 69-year-old woman claiming fraud has been referred to federal authorities, according to the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office.
All complaints filed and sent to the Tennessee Board for Licensing Contractors against Evolve have been closed, according to public records obtained by Clarksville Now.
Montgomery County: No records on file for Evolve
In Tennessee, a home improvement license can be required for projects that run from $3,000 to $24,999, but this only applies to counties that have adopted the law.
Montgomery County has not done that, so the complaints fall outside TDCI’s jurisdiction. Only nine Tennessee counties have adopted the law: Bradley, Davidson, Hamilton, Haywood, Knox, Marion, Robertson, Rutherford and Shelby.
Clarksville Now reached out to the Montgomery Government for comment, and the county confirmed they do not require a local home improvement license for residential project under $25,000. However, if a contractor is not state licensed, Montgomery County requires a county business license, workers’ compensation coverage, liability insurance, and a signed job proposal between the homeowner and contractor.
Montgomery County said they have no such records on file for Evolve Construction & Restoration.
‘There’s been nights where I’ve sat here and cried and cried’
Cherry said at this point, he’s just waiting for the roof to start leaking again, and he’s lost on what to do. He said he did contact one lawyer in Clarksville, but he was unable to pay the $750 service fee.
“This has been so exhausting. There’s been nights where I’ve sat here and cried and cried,” he said. “Thinking about everything I have to pay, how I’m going to pay it, and not being able to get a roof on the house. It has drained me and continues to drain me. … I just can’t let go of that kind of money.
“They have my address; they’ve pulled it up on their computer before. They pulled up all the information on their computer, so they can’t say that they don’t know (what’s going on). There is no excuse for it.”
Cherry said his family has struggled to pay other expenses such as the cremation of his wife’s sister, and repair work needed for other parts of their property. He said his family has even turned to food banks for assistance.
Overwhelmed by emotion, Cherry had to step away from the interview. When he came back, he said, “I’m a veteran, and I never would have thought that they would do people like this. I’ve heard of it, but you never believe it until it happens to you.”
‘Evolve Construction exercised its right to 35%’
When Clarksville Now reached Evolve about Cherry’s situation on April 27, they explained that the project was a “complex insurance restoration, involving multiple claims, previous payments, denied claims, the coordination of a third-party public adjuster (NICA), and mortgage endorsement requirements.”
“The availability of funds was contingent upon proper endorsement and coordination among all involved parties, which unfortunately led to delays outside of Evolve Construction’s direct control. Evolve Construction diligently performed initial inspections, submitted necessary supplemental requests, and executed temporary mitigation efforts, including tarping (for which we have still not been compensated), to safeguard the property. However, the project ultimately could not proceed to completion due to a material breach of contract by the client.”
| PREVIOUSLY: Veteran ghosted by company with similar complaints in 5 states, questions arise about CEO
Evolve said that Cherry breached his contract by refusing to pay the difference between the insurance payout and the total project cost, as well as a failure to provide essential material selections for the roof.
“Specifically, the homeowner’s policy is an Actual Cash Value (ACV) policy, whereas our contracts are for Replacement Cost Value (RCV). The resulting difference in pricing was approximately $6,000-$7,000, which the client refused to cover.”
Evolve said that furthermore, the homeowner had previous or multiple claims, which created significant complications with the insurance carrier. “In strict adherence to our contractual terms, Evolve Construction exercised its right to 35% of the RCV as liquidated damages, issued a final invoice, and closed the file,” the company said.
Clarksville Now asked Evolve several follow-up questions, including:
- If they had indeed received both forms of payment from Cherry.
- How much money they intend to keep and send back, with Cherry’s file now closed.
- If an invoice of the work done to Cherry’s home can be provided.
Evolve has not responded to the follow-up questions.
Former employee being sued by Evolve, contractor
Ghist told Clarksville Now that as of March 10, Evolve filed a civil lawsuit against 23 defendants, which included himself. The allegations of the lawsuit, filed in the 9th Judicial Circuit Court in Orange County, Florida, allege the defendants violated their Evolve Construction contracts.
Evolve alleges Ghist improperly competed with Evolve Construction while using leads or client lists after employment with the contractor and/or in conspiracy with others to induce existing customers to terminate their relationship with Evolve.
The lawsuit also alleges Ghist disclosed confidential information, improperly disparaged Evolve and failed to repay some of his draws.
Evolve said they are actively engaged in legal proceedings across multiple jurisdictions to address third-party disputes. “We vehemently dispute any allegations of wrongdoing and are confident that these matters will be resolved favorably through the appropriate legal channels,” Evolve said.
Evolve change of ownership
Over the last week, there have been several reports, including from Yahoo Finance and Business Wire, that the Solvane Group, led by David Carlson, acquired the Evolve platform for $50 million.
Jay Zaabri, the founder and CEO of Evolve Holdings according to his website, confirmed the news of the transaction on Instagram.
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