A local home contractor is facing felony charges in Westbrook and a civil lawsuit from the state for allegedly scamming dozens of customers out of hundreds of thousands of dollars for construction work that was abandoned or never started.
Timothy Galvez, 33, of Portland, was arrested on a felony warrant this week following a “lengthy investigation” into “significant home repair fraud” that included at least 14 victims across southern Maine over the course of several years, according to the Westbrook Police Department.
Galvez, who did business as Tim’s Express Decks and Odd Jobs, Galvez Properties and Ben and Sons Express Construction, is accused of stealing “several hundred thousand dollars” from customers since at least 2019, police said. If convicted, he could be incarcerated or fined.
Galvez’s arrest comes in the midst of an ongoing legal battle for similar offenses.
In April, the Maine Office of the Attorney General filed a civil suit in Kennebec County Superior Court alleging that Galvez violated the Maine Unfair Trade Practices act “by entering into contracts that violate Maine law, providing unskilled and insufficient labor, performing defective work, refusing to honor warranties, failing to conform with applicable building costs and abandoning projects prior to completing contractual scope,” according to court documents. “In several instances, he accepted deposits and performed no work,” the lawsuit says.
Maine does not license or otherwise regulate contractors, but requires a written contract for work over $3,000. The attorney general’s office said its Consumer Mediation Program receives more complaints about contractors than any other type of business.
According to the lawsuit, Galvez routinely changed the name of his business because of bad reviews, “thereby deceiving customers and making it difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to obtain truthful information about his skills and business practices.”
He also allegedly went by different trade names, including Timothy Enoch, Timoteo Enoch, Timothy Beruca and Builders of Maine.
The lawsuit claims that Galvez entered into at least 37 contracts that failed to meet the provisions of the Maine Home Construction Contracts Act. Court documents also cite at least 17 instances of shoddy workmanship and 22 of not completing the work. Victims have not only lost the money they paid to Galvez, but have also had to shell out more money to repair or replace the damage and hire replacement contractors to finish projects.
As the negative reviews piled up, Galvez became “extremely concerned about his negative reputation,” the suit says.
He allegedly told customers that in exchange for removing negative reviews, he would refund their deposits.
One customer claims to have paid a $40,000 deposit on what was expected to be a $55,000 project (though legally, contractors cannot require deposits for more than one-third of the expected cost). When Galvez abandoned the project partway through, the customer left an angry review. Galvez offered to refund a portion of the deposit and once the review was removed, the customer received $10,000.
This “pay-for-silence scheme” occurred at least five times, according to the lawsuit, preventing future customers from being warned about his business practices.
The AG’s office is seeking restitution for the victims, as well as a civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each of the five counts of unfair trade practices and a prohibition against ever working as a contractor in Maine again.
The office faces an uphill battle.
Since 2020, the office has received just shy of 3,250 complaints against contractors, Assistant Attorney General Ben Dexter told lawmakers in April. Of those, the office mediated 420 but was only able to resolve 94 – just under 3%. The total amount recovered for victims was less than $190,000, which Dexter said is “a fraction of the actual costs to consumers from incomplete and defective work.”
Maine is one of just 14 states that does not require contractor licensing. Maine legislators have tried to pass such a requirement at least eight times in the last 15 years, with the most recent attempt this session.
Dexter said the system is entirely reactive. Mediation with the AG’s office is on a voluntary basis. The issue is civil, not criminal, so there’s little police can do. Lawyers’ hands are often tied as well. Consumers can sue, but contractors can also declare bankruptcy, which often leaves homeowners with nothing but expensive legal fees. The AG’s office can also sue, but litigation is frequently a lengthy process.
“In the meantime, consumers and their families are living in unsafe, unfinished homes, without the money to hire anyone else to fix them. And, infuriatingly for the consumers, the contractor can continue to operate while the lawsuit is pending and inflict more harm on consumers,” he said.
Supporters say the system is broken and puts too many homeowners at risk, while opponents argue that licensing won’t stop the bad actors and will only slow down construction when Maine needs to be increasing building.
This year’s bill, LD 1226, was narrowly approved in both chambers, but failed to receive funding and was carried over to the next session.
Westbrook Police could not be reached Thursday to clarify how many and what specific charges Galvez is facing.
