ATLANTA — The owners of a defunct roofing company have admitted to taking big payouts for themselves right up until the day the roof caved in.
Georgia Roofing and Construction was under state investigation after hundreds of storm victims complained that the Douglasville-based company took their insurance deposits, but never installed new roofs.
READ: Georgia Roofing & Company Bankruptcy Filing Defunct Roofers Sapped Cash As Co. Went Under
After the company began mass layoffs on Oct. 1, Channel 2 consumer investigator Jim Strickland asked Georgia Roofing co-owner Shone Humphries if the company was preparing to liquidate. Humphries ignored the inquiry, but it turned out he and his partners were sapping the company of cash, even as they prepared to shut the doors.
Court documents showed the company took in $9 million so far this year. In a recent bankruptcy filing, Humphries admitted that he and his partners helped themselves to more than $300,000 each in cash over the past year.
"They're locking the doors and hiding, and we're probably never going to see our paychecks," said laid-off employee Cady Register.
A storm victim told Strickland he was out $3,000 because of Georgia Roofing. A new crew was measuring his roof Monday, but he told Strickland it's hard to measure his disgust.
"It makes me sick, makes me angry," said homeowner William Murphy.
Georgia Roofing's owner's payments look illegal, according to bankruptcy expert Neil Gordon, of the Arnall Golden Gregory law firm.
"There's an actual statue that says you cannot, as the shareholders, take distributions out of the company when it's insolvent, when it's not paying the creditors," Gordon said.
Gordon said he expects the Chapter 7 trustee to go after the money.
A local contractor told Strickland he thinks the real problem is a lack of state regulation. Contractor Ron Crist said Georgia needs roofer licensing.
"If we get a storm tomorrow you're going to see it again. It's not going to go away. It's not going to get better. It's not regulated," Crist said of the roofing industry.
Previous Stories: October 7, 2010: Contractor Accused Of Taking Money, Not Installing Roofs