On April 8, The Watchdog exposed what may be one of the biggest roofing fraud scandals in North Texas history.
One month later, on May 8, the Texas Attorney General’s office sued the roofer for fraud.
Better late than never.
The state’s consumer protection lawyers deserve credit for stepping in. But it wasn’t hard work. Victims had already done much of the investigative work, compiling a detailed spreadsheet listing dozens of homeowners, how they were deceived and exactly how much money they lost. Still, the A.G.’s lawsuit sheds light on how roofer Gilad Rubinsky allegedly deceived so many victims.
By last count on that infamous spreadsheet the victims compiled, there are 42 victims who lost a collective total of half a million dollars.
There’s probably more, group leaders say.
‘Grumpy’
Gilad Rubinsky carried the nickname of “Grumpy” — based on his demeanor at professional poker tables he frequented. Chris Coles, a poker player, said the nickname fits his personality. Coles says he watched Rubinsky lose a lot of money playing poker. He surmises that’s where a good portion of the victims’ money went.
Still, Coles made the mistake of hiring Rubinsky to do his roof job. He says he lost $38,651.
Before I share the latest details on how this man plied his trade, I want to remind you how easy it is to get ripped off in the crooked roofing industry in the Lone Scam State.
For more than 20 years, The Watchdog has dreamed the impossible dream that the state would provide oversight and protect Texans from this scourge.
Yet Gov. Greg Abbott and state lawmakers have refused to create either a licensing or registration system for roofers to make it a lot harder to take the money and run.
Aggressive tactics
Rubinsky, according to court documents, was a master of this. According to the A.G.’s lawsuit, Rubinsky’s tool kit contained repeated phone calls and text messages to pressure homeowners into signing contracts.
Sometimes he’d pressure prospects into signing and they wouldn’t. But then he’d act like they did, texted them “at all hours” and demanded money.
On one occasion, a “salesperson refused repeated requests to leave, and the consumer threatened to call 911 before the salesperson finally departed.”
Delays and excuses
He’d delay and delay. For one customer who had already paid, he promised to do the job in August, then September, October, November and December. The work was never done.
Excuses he used were bad weather, unavailable crews, injuries on other jobs and promises of a date to be set soon.
Eventually, calls and texts would go unanswered.
What’s next?
Victims report that the U.S. Attorney‘s Office has issued about 30 subpoenas. The feds appear ready to jump on the case. The FBI declined to comment.
Victims told me they fear they won’t recover any of their money. They say they are hoping that at least he’ll get some jail time.
I was unable to reach Rubinsky.
But I did hear his voice on a recording played for me by a customer.
“No one in this country understands roofing and the process better than I do,” he said. “My goal is always to build quickly because that’s how I make money. That’s how I make my customers happy.”
It now appears the legal system will decide his fate. But until Texas requires roofers to be licensed or registered, homeowners remain only one signature away from becoming the next names on a victim spreadsheet.
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