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Name-Changing Convicted 'Con Man' Owes Money to Forsyth County Homeowners

"He’s a chronic, polished liar,' explains Bill Loeffler, who hired Tony Ray Hubbard to do work at his home. "He lies so much he believes his lies."

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Some might say it's been a long time coming for Tony Ray Hubbard.

"He’s a chronic, polished liar,' explains Bill Loeffler.  "He lies so much he believes his lies."

Loeffler and his wife Christine hired Hubbard to do work on their home a few years back.  They were hoping to expand part of their house, but their experience with the so-called contractor left a lot to be desired.

"About 2 months into the project I started realizing that there were going to be issues," Christine explains.  "I grew up with a dad as an architect and I know how to read plans and things were not feeling right to me."

The Loefflers say Hubbard stopped returning their calls and showing up to their home.

"The final blow sort of was when he got the falsified building permit and built a foundation over the easement which of course we had to take out later and that’s when we found out things were going south in a hurry," Bill says.

It's all true.  Winston-Salem Police showed us evidence that Hubbard doctored paperwork and forged documents to get a building permit from the City of Winston-Salem.  

What's worse, is that he's lied before.  Investigators say he's used other aliases to try and get work.  Attorney Scott Harkey says he used at least two other names, Ray Reagan and Grayson Lee Anthony Reynolds, that seemingly had clout in the Winston-Salem area.

Harkey says he'd been sued before over incomplete work.

"To avoid paying out on those civil judgments he’s continuously changed his name and tried to re-brand himself so he can continue to defraud people throughout the state of North Carolina."

Not only did the Loefflers sue Hubbard over bad work, but police went after him for felony charges related to fake documents and fraud.  Forsyth County District Attorney appointed Harkey to the case when it turned criminal. 

One of the biggest pieces of evidence they found was that Hubbard said he was licensed to get a permit, when in reality, he had lost his contracting license a months before taking the project on.

On Thursday, in Forsyth County Superior Court, Hubbard took a plea deal on the felony charges he was facing.

He won't do any jail time, unless he violates terms of his probation which are very specific: he can't apply for any more name changes; he can't apply for permits through Winston-Salem or Forsyth County'; and he can't apply for another general contracting license in North Carolina.

He also has to pay about $57,000 to the Loefflers.  The couple says they estimate they're out about $100,000 in all the work they paid Hubbard to do, plus the other contractors they paid to fix Hubbard's mess.

But their goal in suing him was to stop him from duping anyone else.

If you plan to hire anyone to do work, it's important to do your homework.

"Do your research as best you can. Ask the right questions. Make sure folks are licensed in the state of North Carolina before you do business with them," Harkey explains. "All it takes is a phone call. You can pick up the phone, you can call the licensing board and check to see if someone is licensed in the state of North Carolina."

You can also search business records through the Secretary of State's website and check out reviews and other potential red flags through the Better Business Bureau.

 

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