AYDEN — A building contractor convicted of conning clients out of their money may be back to his old habits.
Anne and Roderick Moore of Ayden signed an agreement with Majestic Roofing and Buildings to build what would be a daycare center for their granddaughter. They said he showed up, poured a concrete foundation and hasn’t done much else.
“He was found guilty both times we went to court,” Anne Moore said. “We have got no money, no phone calls, no service, no building, no nothing. They would not even return our phone calls. I do not want this company scamming other people, and that’s what they’ve done.
“They’re scamming and stealing.”
The Moores paid Martin Peele of Majestic a 25 percent deposit, amounting to $2,658.75, and an additional $2,500 for laying the foundation. The Lenoir County small claims court issued an order to pay back the deposit, but the couple says they’ve been stonewalled in trying to recover the money.
“I’ve been down there (to the office) three or four times,” Anne Moore said. “There’s nobody there, they never return a phone call. I left two notes on the door, nobody would return a phone call.”
Majestic’s business office is just south of Vine Swamp on N.C. 58. When The Free Press went to the location Monday afternoon, there were no vehicles on the property and no one answered repeated knocks on the door.
Also, telephone calls by The Free Press were not returned as of press time.
“He told me the day he took my money. I said, ‘When will this building be erected?’ He said, ‘Well, I can’t do it today,’ ” Rodrick Moore said. “I said, ‘I don’t expect you to do it today.’ He said, ‘Six weeks from now, your building will be up.’ I said fine, so I didn’t call him. After seven weeks I called him. He wouldn’t answer the phone.”
On March 1, 2011, a Randolph County court convicted Peele of 29 counts of felony obtaining property under false pretense, five counts of misdemeanor fraud and two counts of misdemeanor failure to give right to cancel in off-premise contract. He received a five-year suspended sentence.
Those crimes come from activities in Franklinville when Peele headed up Superior Barns and Buildings. According to The Randolph Guide, the State Bureau of Investigation and Randolph County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.
Peele was also involved with Premier Metal Structures, and allegedly took $6,700 for the construction of a workshop and three carports, which never happened. Eddie Roberson, who hired Peele, took his problem to WRAL-TV 5 in September 2011.
“He promised me he was going to honor my contract with Premier,” Roberson said. “He had all intentions of trying to get it built and everything, but still has not, and this was like the last of June.”
Documents with the N.C. Secretary of State show Premier was administratively dissolved in February 2004, and Superior received the same fate in June 2007. Majestic began operations Jan. 26, 2012.
The Moores said they’ve contacted State Attorney General Roy Cooper, the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office, but there’s been little movement on the legal side. They also talked to the Better Business Bureau, which gives Majestic an F rating.
Three complaints have been posted on the BBB’s website, including one from Jonathan Smart, a Marine from Maysville who contracted with Majestic on Aug. 6, 2012, and by Sept. 28 the only work done was the laying of the concrete foundation.
“I have been promised multiple times that they would be out to put the building up. Even when calling their office I get told they will call me back and nothing happens,” he wrote.
Majestic later replied to the complaint that the building was being worked on and Smart was satisfied with the result. Smart said he wasn’t satisfied at all, writing that workers showed up and left in less than an hour.
The Moores intended for the building to house their granddaughter’s daycare center, a plan they now say may never get off the ground. Rodrick Moore said they just want to get the word out so no one else gets caught in the same position.
“Whether I get my money or not, I feel they’ve got to know about this man,” he said.
Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.