There is lots of finger pointing between two business owners accused of taking money from people needing new roofs and failing to do the work.
Gillian Schmitz is one of the alleged victims of Bow Tie Roofing in New Braunfels.
A hail storm left Schmitz's home in need of a new roof late last year.
Schmitz made a deal with Bow Tie Roofing and sent them approximately $20,000.
"I paid my check in October and they told me it was going to be a few months because they had a number of customers waiting," Schmitz said.
Months went by and nothing. Schmitz's roof was never replaced.
"We now have a list of 50-60 different families throughout the San Antonio and New Braunfels area who have been affected and it's just tragic and it makes my blood boil," said Schmitz, who claims that many of those affected are elderly or in poor health.
Bow Tie was sold in April, then shut down this summer.
KENS 5 spoke to the owner of the company on Tuesday over the phone and also spoke to the attorney representing the previous owner.
Both owners blame each other, saying that they took money and never finished jobs.
In a lawsuit filed against previous owners Jason and June Roberts, owner Jasmine Norris claims that the sale of the business was a fraud and that Jason and June Roberts still had access to bank accounts in which "tens of thousands of dollars of checks and withdraws occurred from the business accounts by the Robertses, all of which were not disclosed."
She claims in the suit "most of the transactions which were leaving the business accounts were for personal items of Jason and June Roberts."
In an email to KENS 5, the attorney for the Robertses said, "Neither of the Robertses were aware at any time (either during or after the sale of the business) of any fraud or underhanded tactics."
The attorney adds, "it was discovered that the Norrises had abandoned the backlog of roofs set for production and instead completed newer contracts, ultimately taking the funds received and abandoning the business."
The Better Business Bureau received 82 complaints against Bow Tie, 38 since March 2016, and 14 are from customers of the new owner.
"The complaints allege the company was soliciting upfront payment and was not coming back to complete the work," said Miguel Segura, regional director for the Better Business Bureau.
Schmitz doesn't expect any work to ever be done, she just wants her money back.
"I want them to know that we're angry, that we've been scammed, and they lied to us and took advantage of very vulnerable people," Schmitz said.
Here's the full statement from the attorney representing Jason and June Roberts:
Green Energy Xperts INC operating as Bow-Tie Roofing was owned by June Roberts from its beginning in 2011 until April 2017. Jason Roberts was President of the company and oversaw its operation. Throughout the operation, under the Roberts, Bow-Tie maintained a 90% positive customer review and A rating by the Better Business Bureau. During the tenure of the Roberts Bow-Tie was a customer-focused organization that made every effort to keep customers apprised of production delays. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the roofing business (labor shortages, weather delays, etc) many times customers were required to wait a significant time in order to get their roofs repaired but Bow-Tie made every effort to communicate with customers. Mr. Roberts has recently been made aware that the process he had in place to keep customers informed of delays did not always get followed, and he regrets that he did not personally ensure that these measures were being followed but he had management staff that was in charge of sales and production and that staff remained after the sale.
In February 2017 Jason Roberts began removing himself from Bow-Tie due to personal reasons. With her husband's withdrawal from the company, June Roberts determined it was the best interest of the Bow-Tie for her to sell it to an interested employee, Jasmin Norris. The stock sale took place on April 26, 2017. At the time of the sale, the cash and accounts receivable were approximately $250,000 and there were 40 sold contracts in which no money had been received. The intention of the sale was for Jasmin Norris and her husband Josh to step into the shoes of the Roberts’ but in August it was discovered that the Norris’ had abandoned the backlog of roofs set for production and instead completed newer contracts, ultimately taking the funds received and abandoning the business.
Jason and June Roberts are distraught over what has happened. They are greatly saddened by the situation of the homeowners and regret that the sale of the business allowed such a thing to occur. The sale was intended to help the homeowners by providing a more present management team but instead caused harm. Neither of the Roberts were aware at any time (either during or after the sale of the business) of any fraud or underhanded tactics being utilized by Bow-Tie employee. The conduct of Jasmin and Josh Norris and Bow-Tie Roofing after the sale was not sanctioned or condoned.
The full lawsuit is below, or you can click here:
Lawsuit filed against Bow Tie Roofing by Anonymous njFtZok on Scribd