Shondrell Perrilloux stands by the dress code sign placed outside of the Edgard Courthouse.

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A financial dispute between two Louisiana business contractors has escalated into a criminal charge and a civil lawsuit, placing local rights activist and contractor Shondrell Perrilloux-Campbell at the center of legal controversy.

Perrilloux, who manages A Quality Touch Commercial Builders LLC in LaPlace, was charged with issuing a worthless check following a short-term loan agreement with Joseph Banks, a residential contractor and owner of J Banks Construction Home Improvement LLC.

The dispute stems from a $5,000 loan Perrilloux said she borrowed from Banks during the final stages of a RESTORE Louisiana housing project. She said she needed to cover financial delays and ensure timely completion ahead of a required state inspection.

“I was cash-strapped while completing the project, which made me approach Banks, whom we had done a couple of projects together in the past,” Perrilloux-Campbell told L’Observateur. “I took a loan which I intended to pay back with interest on the completion of the project.”

Campbell agreed to repay the loan with $2,500 in interest and, at Banks’ request, issued a postdated check on Aug. 15, 2024, to be deposited no earlier than Sept. 16, 2024. She said the check was meant to reassure subcontractors and was only to be cashed after she received payment from the state.

According to text messages reviewed by L’Observateur, Perrilloux told Banks not to deposit the check until the reimbursement was confirmed. The messages show she also offered her car title and a promissory note to delay the deposit.

Despite her warnings, Banks attempted to cash the check before the payment was received. The check was returned due to insufficient funds, triggering a criminal investigation by the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office.

On Feb. 1, 2025, authorities issued a warrant for Perrilloux’s arrest. She was charged under Louisiana Revised Statute 14:71 — issuing worthless checks with intent to defraud, a felony offense.

While Perrilloux maintains her innocence and says the dispute is civil in nature, not criminal. The L’Observateur examined the intake form Banks had submitted to the District Attorney’s Office which prompted the arrest of Perrilloux, did not have his name or signature.

“To avoid a miscarriage of justice, this case should be dismissed,” she wrote in a handwritten motion to the 40th Judicial District Court. She is seeking to have the charge dropped, her arrest record expunged, and Banks held responsible for her legal costs.

Her motion argues that the arrest warrant was flawed and that the statute was misapplied. She also states that the transaction occurred in Jefferson Parish, not St. John the Baptist Parish, and that the legally required 10-day written notice of non-payment was never sent via certified mail.

“The actual instrument didn’t indicate Shondrell Campbell personally,” the motion states, noting the check came from her company’s account, mailed from a business address in St. Rose, St Charles Parish, but charged to court in St. John the Baptist Parish, a different jurisdiction.

Banks declined to comment in a text message to L’Observateur, citing federal privacy laws. He has not yet appeared in court and did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The next court hearing is scheduled for August 6.