People come in all sizes and shapes but nowhere on them is a label that says, “Do not trust!” ~ Dr. JC
I have been defrauded by the handyman who has worked for me and my daughter for two years. He took my money and did not pay the people he brought in to do the work. Please see the attached statement for details.
September 7, 2022
John Hardgraves was working on my tiny house, in Clarendon NC. Someone stole my refrigerator, stovetop, and dishwasher from Lowe’s in Whiteville, on August 1, 2022, three weeks after my back surgery in Wilmington, NC. John had my Lowe’s credit card that he did not return to me. I gave it to him before I went to Wilmington. There was only $9 on it.
I spent $6,981 on materials and appliances. I reported it stolen and requested a new card for me and my daughter. Later, the Whiteville Detective discovered that the goods went missing from the Lowe’s warehouse. Lowe’s refunded all of the money on my credit card. Then, I read an article about Target and Lowe’s missing millions of dollars of inventory. So, I presumed that the warehouse manager took the goods.
The new contractor ex-state trooper Richard Capps insisted that I go to Lowe’s and see what they were holding for me. Two of five items showed on hold. Lowe’s records showed that three of five appliances on hold were picked up on August 1, 2022. I was recovering in an Airbnb in Fayetteville. The refrigerator, dishwasher, and stovetop are not in the house, nor the shed located at 194 Ed Ward Road, Clarendon, NC 28432.
The stackable washer and dryer and the shower door were still at Lowe’s. Someone took the refrigerator, dishwasher, and stovetop that added up to $2000, the exact amount of John’s last unpaid invoice. My daughter, Mimi, who hired him in 2020, fired him two weeks after the appliances had been picked up without my permission or knowledge. So, his actions may have been premeditated if he took them.
I made a police report at Lowe’s and waited for the police to report who picked up the refrigerator, stovetop, and dishwasher without my permission. At the end of June, July, and August, I called Lowe’s to ask for an extension of time to hold my five appliances. I received a call back from the manager, at the end of August. He said they could keep the appliances for another month only. We did not discuss the items being held, during this conversation, because I did not know that John Hardgraves has picked three of them up on August 1st, until the new contractor Richard Capps informed me that he went to Lowe’s to see what was being held for me. At Lowe’s, Capps learned that there were only two items not five on hold.
John Hardgraves threatened to file a mechanic’s lien. He had no contract. His work was that of a 12-year-old, according to the new contractor who reworked the electrical panel, water heater, and electrical outlets, and invoiced me $817 for the labor.
They are pulling the store video at Lowe’s. I’m pressing charges because we’ve paid John Hardgraves every dime that he invoiced us for since 2020. He overcharged for removing an old house. Nothing he did was right except mowing the lawn and his old cousin did that.
John Hardgraves invoiced me once for drywall, then another time for sheetrock, which is the same thing. The new contractor and another builder both said the drywall looked like it had been done by a 12-year-old. There is still a lot of drywall work to do to make the job right.
Hardgrave’s cousin Robbie and his son Hoss were supposed to be doing the work. But the last time I was at the house when they were there, Robbie told me that he worked a 10-hour job then came to do this work on my house. John was not paying the people who did the work for him. That’s why his cousin wound up coming to do the work. In addition, John’s nephew Timothy Marlowe was paid to do the plumbing. His quote was for $5,400. I paid him half to get supplies. He never finished the work.
The electrician we hired Anthony Lewis from Fuquay Electric never finished the work we contracted him to do, either. We never paid the final invoice for $338 because he did not come to finish the work. According to him, he did not answer to John who was a handyman telling him where to put the outdoor electrical panel. So, he dropped off the job. We paid John $338 to finish the outlets, but they were never done. Also, I paid for lighting fixtures that he picked up from Lowe’s, but they are nowhere to be found. That charge is on my credit card.
Around the time he took the appliances, we asked John Hardgraves to leave the keys because I thought I lost my set. But I found them hanging on my cooler. He asked us if we were firing him then. We said no because we did not intend to fire him.
So, he went and got my appliances because he had the order number and knew the people in the Lowe’s warehouse. told my daughter that he was a liar. Now, we know he’s a thief, too.
I’m exhausted from this process. I have been taken advantage of by people I paid to do a job for me. They left the house a mess. I paid Richard Capps to clean the house up and pay the electrician to repair and rearrange electrical apparatus in the amount of $1,000.
To date, this project has cost me $60,499.26. I paid John Hardgraves $6,690 from my account and $3,939 on credit cards for a total of $10,629. There is an outstanding invoice for $2,050.
My daughter was referred to John Hardgraves in 2020 by our realtor Kip Nance who sold us 9.5 acres of land without disclosing that at least 6 acres are in a flood zone. The 3.5 acres we put the house and sheds on perked. The rest of the land is in the flood zone. Kip referred only John to us. He did not give a list of professional contractors. John maintained the lawn, after the cornstalks were removed. We trusted John because we had a relationship with him. But he defrauded us in every way.
Dr. Joan Cartwright
Mimi Johnson
Clarendon, NC
Attachments:
Photos of the house before and after the new contractor cleaned up the house.
After the cleanup by the new contractor
Needless to say, I am making every effort to resolve this issue. Today, I spoke with a Whiteville Police Department Detective. Last night, I submitted this statement to the Columbus County District Attorney. Now, I need to file a report with Columbus County State Troopers. It’s an ordeal but must be done.
Be safe and DO NOT TRUST anyone!
Words We Speak 
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