Gwinnett roofer facing 21 complaints, 8 police reports, civil suits

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - Jerrie Hightower is tired of excuses and wants her roofing contractor, Tom Bouhan, to return a $13,000 insurance claim check for a new roof.

But more than a year after signing a contract with Veteran’s Roofing LLC, Hightower and her husband still don’t have a new roof.

“Mr. Bouhan kept hounding me and hounding me to give him a check,” she said.

Hightower said the ordeal began when a Veterans Roofing sales associate knocked on her door and offered a free roof inspection. She said the salesman discovered hail damage, and her insurer agreed to pay $13,000 to replace the roof.

Hightower signed a contract in September 2022, and said Bouhan picked up the check, reviewed the terms, but never returned to complete the work. Several months later, Hightower asked for a refund.

A month later, Hightower asked for her check to be returned. “I’ll never forget what he said,” she recalled. “‘Oh, that ain’t going to happen! ... You’re going to have fees taken out of it.’ ”

Hightower said Bouhan followed up with a demand letter for breach of contract and said he was keeping nearly $4,000 in fees, “not including the countless hours my team and myself wasted.”

Hightower said she got an attorney who sent Bouhan a demand letter.

In a recent call recorded by Atlanta News First Investigates, Bouhan said he mailed the check back in February.

Bouhan is no stranger to the Atlanta News First investigative team. In 2019, Better Call Harry aired a story about a customer who signed over an insurance check and waited months for Bouhan (who was then operating under the business name Simpliroofing) to complete the work.

Bouhan blamed an employee for stealing the insurance claim check, and hired subcontractors to complete the work. But customer complaints to Atlanta News First Investigates continued.

Since 2019, 21 customers have filed complaints with the Georgia’s Attorney General’s consumer protection division. Ten customers and a subcontractor filed police reports against Bouhan, and several have filed civil lawsuits.

In 2020, a customer sued Bouhan and Simpliroofing, alleging the contractor collected the insurance claim check, replaced the roof, but never paid the subcontractors who completed the work. The homeowner said he paid the subcontractors in order to remove a lien on his home.

A Gwinnett County judge awarded a default judgement for the refund, legal fees and punitive damages totaling $98,000. State records show one month later, Bouhan dissolved Simpliroofing and began doing business as Veterans Roofing Company LLC.

In early November, Atlanta News First Investigates spoke with Bouhan as he drove out of his gated subdivision in Suwanee:

• Bouhan: “You’re not allowed to film my personal residence!”
• Better Call Harry: “I’m here because I want to give you the opportunity to respond.”
• Bouhan: “Yeah, you did that last time and you were full of crap.”
• Better Call Harry: “How?”
• Bouhan: “Because you lie.”

Hightower said Bouhan recently texted her and claimed he was returning the money. She plans on filing a police report and a complaint with the state attorney general’s office.

The Better Business Bureau warns customers and issued Veterans Roofing LLC an F rating.

“Thomas Bouhan, the owner of Veterans Roofing Company, LLC previously was the owner for Simpliroofing, LLC, which was the subject of a pattern of complaints. BBB has a separate profile on Simpliroofing, LLC.”

If there’s something you would like Atlanta News First′s Consumer Investigator Better Call Harry to look into, fill out this submission form.

Copyright 2023 WANF. All rights reserved.