Residents report contractor who reportedly scammed 76-year-old, multiple others, out of hundreds

MONROE, NC (WBTV) - A 76-year-old Monroe woman says she is one of several people who were reportedly scammed out of money by a local contractor.

“I live on a fixed income,” Eleanor Stubbins says. “And even though, I’m sure people have gotten scammed for a lot more money than I did, it’s just not right that these people can come into your home and steal your money.”

She and other homeowners in the area say a man working as contractor collects hundreds of dollars in deposits, and never starts the job.

“I take people at their face value until they prove me wrong,” Stubbins says. “And this guy really proved me wrong.”

The walls of Stubbins’ home are empty right now in preparation for painting she thought this local contractor would do. She says she paid him $300 down.

“He said he would be here by Friday by 2:00 to do the work,” she says.

Friday came – but that man didn’t.

“He said he’d definitely be here Saturday morning, never showed up,” she says.

Stubbins says she hasn’t been able to contact him now to try to get her money back – so she’s reported him to police.

On Monday, a call from WBTV to the number Stubbins and her family had been communicating with this man on, in part included him telling us about his offer to Stubbins.

“You can either have the paint, or I can sell the paint on another job, and I can reimburse you what I sell it,” he says.

Stubbins says she’s never received such an offer, and as of Monday evening, still had not heard anything of that nature from him.

Her daughter Amanda Stubbins-Helms posted about it on Facebook, getting several responses about this same contractor.

“I can’t even count how many comments and messages I’ve received from people,” Stubbins-Helms says. “’Oh, it happened to me, it happened to my neighbor.’”

We’re not including this man’s name because though there are police reports filed against him, and investigators say they are looking into it, he has not been charged. His voicemail lists his company as Superior Design and Renovations.

“He said he’d be able to start the next day,” another homeowner, Paige Inge says. “And so, I gave him the deposit check, and he left, and the next morning texted me first thing in the morning and said his machine was broken.”

Inge says she too has reported this contractor to police.

She says no work was ever done on her home, and that she and her husband gave the man a deadline to return their deposits, or materials he said they were used to buy. That never happened, she says. She also claims the man stole a leaf-blower from her garage.

As both families await police investigations, they have a warning for other homeowners.

“Check out the person,” Stubbins says. “No matter what, go online, check them out.”

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