CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. — An uphill battle for homeowners who say Harden and Dukes Custom Homes took millions of dollars from them. Charlotte County’s licensing board has recommended the state revoke HD Custom Homes’ license. But, homeowners say they want more consequences for the owners.
Beth Piper says a revoked license is step in the right direction to protect more people from those builders, but says owners Matthew Harden and Stephen Dukes still need to pay for what they did with jail time.
Piper fought back tears at Tuesday’s Charlotte County Commissioners meeting. Another HD customer stood beside her for support.
“It’s been 14 months since we’ve had anything happen, and I feel no one’s listening to us and the 49 other homeowners who have been impacted by this disaster,” she said.
She said after taking her money HD Custom Homes stopped working on her Port Charlotte home completely at the end of 2018. According to the county, that’s also the same time the licensing board revoked permitting privileges and recommended the state licensing board revoke their license altogether.
Piper, who moved to Southwest Florida from Minnesota last year, said she couldn’t believe when she learned Rhino Custom Homes was also doing the same thing to homeowners throughout the county.
“It really makes me sad to come down to this community, and know that other people are going to be taken advantage of. I really want to stop that from happening again,” she said.
The Charlotte County Construction Industry Licensing Board disciplined Rhino owner Mark Southwick last week.
Robin Cyphert who’s lost $47,000 to HD said she won’t be satisfied until she sees the owners Harden and Dukes behind bars.
“If someone stole my purse, they would go to jail,” she said. “These people stole the livelihood, the confidence, and trust of a lot of people besides the money.”
Charles Duke, another homeowner who lost $80,000 to HD jokingly said they’d even pay to see the owners in orange jumpsuits.
“Of all the 50+ families that are in on all this, I’m sure they will gladly give up the recovery fund of $500,000 just to buy them a jail cell,” he said.
The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office told Fox 4 they wrapped up their investigation and passed it along to the State Attorney’s Office.
Commissioner Chairman Bill Truex said he’s working with local entities to hold educational sessions about legal contracts for homeowners. But Lynn Leboutillier, who also lost $80,000 to HD Homes said there’s too much focus on the homeowner.
“The homeowner is totally responsible. They get all the liens. And the builders are not held responsible,” she said.
As of Tuesday, no formal criminal charges have been brought to the HD builders, but the State Attorney’s Office confirmed that this matter is under review by their office.
