OKLAHOMA CITY – A Grady County contractor already named in five counts of defrauding Oklahomans in four counties of thousands of dollars for home repair work he never completed, had another criminal charge added to the list last week.
Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor filed a sixth embezzlement charge against Norman Thomas “Buddy” Gomes, 40, who owned BNV Construction.
The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit began investigating a consumer fraud case that implicated Gomes in July 2021 after receiving several complaints. Gomes is accused of requesting money up front from six victims for home repair projects he never started.
He is named in five felony embezzlement charges for alleged offenses in Caddo, Grady and Beckham counties; one misdemeanor embezzlement charge accusing him of appropriating for his “own use and benefit” $500 received from an Oklahoma County man in December 2021 as a down payment for a trailer; plus a felony count of pattern of criminal offenses.
Gomes is free from custody on $5,000 bond that was posted on June 24. His preliminary hearing in Grady County District Court is scheduled for Nov. 9.
The Oklahoma State Courts Network shows that Gomes has a history of defaulting on his bills, two convictions for assault and battery, and a two-decade record of traffic tickets. He also has three other pending felony cases in two counties.
After the initial embezzlement charges were filed against Gomes, another victim contacted the A.G.’s Office with complaints similar to those of the other five victims.
A 79-year-old woman who lives in rural Anadarko needed her roof replaced and contacted Gomes to complete the work. According to the criminal charge, Gomes agreed verbally to replace the roof and the woman paid him almost $15,000 on 15 January 2021. The transaction reportedly occurred at a gas station near Verden.
Gomes deposited the check into his bank account that same day, told the woman he would start work in a week or two – but never did – the complaint alleges. The woman placed several telephone calls to Gomes but he “ignored the calls,” the Attorney General said. Gomes “did not start any work, ceased all communication, and did not refund” the woman’s money, O’Connor said.
Gomes is now accused of embezzling $49,385 from the six victims. If convicted, he faces up to 28 years in prison and up to $51,000 in fines, along with restitution owed to the victims.
“The Oklahoma Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Unit is committed to finding and eliminating bad actors in the state’s home improvement industry,” O’Connor said.
Consumers who believe they have been victim of this type of fraud are encouraged to file a complaint by calling the Consumer Protection Unit at (833) 681-1895.
Gomes also charged
with 3 other felonies
Besides the embezzlement charges filed in Grady County, Gomes is scheduled to appear in Caddo County District Court on Oct. 21 to answer a felony charge of forgery.
He also was charged July 18 in Cleveland County District Court with two felonies.
An Oklahoma City police investigator wrote that a teller at a bank in south Oklahoma City, in Cleveland County, attempted to cash a “washed” check that had “numerous discrepancies, including the account holder signature not matching the signature card on file.” The teller contacted the account holder, “who confirmed she did not issue the check, nor did she know” the man attempting to cash it.
Police were summoned. Meanwhile, the man attempting to cash the check “became suspicious” and left the scene, leaving behind his identification card and the check, the investigator reported.
The bank teller wrote down the number on the license plate of the vehicle the man was driving, and police learned it was registered to Norman Thomas Gomes. The teller also confirmed to the investigator that the man attempting to cash the check – which was recorded on bank cameras – matched the image of the man on the ID card, which was issued to Gomes.
The police investigator contacted the account holder for the check; she examined her checkbook, which was in the glove compartment of her car, and discovered three checks had been torn out. The woman was “unsure when or how” the theft occurred, “does not know” the man who attempted to cash the check “nor did she authorize a payment to him.”
Gomes was charged in Cleveland County with concealing or knowingly receiving stolen property and attempting to obtain money by false pretense.
Gomes sued 9 times
over unpaid debts
Gomes has been named in nine civil lawsuits, court records show.
• Liberty National Bank filed suit in Grady County District Court against Gomes and his wife in late 2020, alleging they were in default on a $100,000 promissory note issued in 2015.
The unpaid balance on the note as of October 2020 was $70,436 with interest accruing at 21% annually, $41.09 per day, plus late charges of $467.82.
As collateral on the loan, Gomes and his wife conveyed to the bank their mortgage on a piece of property in Chickasha. The property was appraised at $49,000 in August 2021; a month later the bank bought the property at auction for $32,666.
• In early 2020 CompSource Mutual Insurance Co. sued Gomes in Oklahoma County District Court, claiming he owed $34,270 in premiums for insurance policies he acquired for his company, BNV Construction.
An Oklahoma County district judge subsequently ruled for CompSource, and in February 2021 the debt – $37,619 in principal, interest and costs – was paid in full, court records reflect.
• LVNV Funding sued Gomes in Grady County District Court in 2020 for defaulting on a $1,192 credit card debt to Comenity Bank. A judge ruled for LVNV.
• Midland Credit Management sued Gomes in Grady County District Court in 2020 for failure to pay the balance owed on a Capital One credit card. A judge ruled for the plaintiff and awarded $5,423.
• Capital One Bank sued Gomes in Grady County District Court in 2019 for failure to pay the balance due on a credit card. A judge ruled for Capital One and awarded $6,400.
• Discover Bank sued Gomes in Grady County District Court in 2019 for failure to pay the balance on a credit card. A judge ruled for the bank and awarded $8,288; a garnishment order was issued, and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission was informed the agency had “a continuing obligation to produce” Gomes’ employment history “for the period specified in any written request” from Discover Bank. The judgment was released later that year, court records show.
• American Express National Bank sued Gomes in Grady County District Court in 2019, alleging he had been in default on a credit card for 14 months. A judge ruled for American Express and awarded $29,304.
• In 2017 a division of First Western Bank & Trust sued Gomes in Grady County for failure to pay on a loan extended to him to buy equipment for a company registered in his name, ANB Used Cars in Anadarko. A judge awarded the plaintiff $6,277 in damages.
• A Grady County District Court judge ordered Gomes to pay $365 in 2005 on a small-claims debt.
Bogus check, A&B
convictions; 31 tickets
• Gomes received a five-year deferred prison sentence plus a $500 fine on a guilty plea in 2002 in Grady County to a felony bogus-check charge.
• Gomes pleaded guilty in 2002 in Caddo County District Court to a misdemeanor charge of obtaining cash or merchandise by bogus check. The court ordered him to pay $1,197.
• Gomes pleaded guilty in Caddo County District Court in 2002 and again in 2013 to misdemeanor charges of assault and battery.
• His traffic records include 19 convictions for speeding, and 12 for failure to wear a seat belt, between 1998 and 2017. According to the Oklahoma State Courts Network, those citations were issued in Custer, Garvin, Grady, Caddo, Oklahoma, Johnston and Marshall counties.
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