NC price gouging | Josh Stein, NC Attorney General Sues Business Owner Accused of Price Gouging During Helene Aftermath

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — Attorney General Josh Stein is suing a business owner accused of price gouging after Hurricane Helene.

Lorenzo Huggins, Sr. and his companies, including Huggins & Sons Yard Service and Lorenzo & Son Landscaping, for allegedly gouging North Carolinians for tree removal services.

The lawsuit says Huggins charged a Hendersonville couple $25,000 to remove two trees that had fallen on their roof and didn’t finish the job.

According to the lawsuit, instead of removing the trees and tree debris from the house and yard, workers threw branches and tree debris into the house through the hole in the roof, causing a tree to fall onto a wall.

Because Huggins didn’t complete the tree removal and cleanup, the couple had to hire and pay additional contractors.

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“As Western North Carolina continues the cleanup and reconstruction following the hurricane, I want price gougers to be made aware,” Stein said in a news release. “If you take advantage of people in their time of need and charge them unfair, inflated prices, my office will hold you accountable.”

Since 2018, Stein has filed 13 lawsuits against 30 defendants under North Carolina’s price gouging law. He has obtained 14 judgments or settlements from 25 defendants totaling $1,080,000, including a $274,000 settlement, the largest settlement in the Department’s history.

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