JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A log homebuilder is accused of taking tens of thousands from families and leaving town.
Action News Jax Paige Kelton has been tracking the builder through five states. She first reported Marvin Lenhart, of Marvin's Log Homes in February when two local families said he took their money and didn't deliver their dream homes.
Two more families have stepped forward since then with the mission to take this businessman down.
Jack Cheek and Nester Gil paid Lenhart, of Jacksonville, paid a combined $100,000 for log cabins that weren't built.
Marvin Lenhart had many excuses when confronted by Kelton on a rural Georgia job site.
"The last thing I would do is cheat," Lenhart said. "I've raised my children to be honest. I've always done the right thing and I will continue to do the right thing."
"I think he's (Lenhart) just a plain crook," said Jimmy Palmer, a disabled vet who served our country for 34 years.
Kelton traveled more than 300 miles to Andalusia, Alabama, to meet Palmer.
"I always wanted a log home," Palmer said.
John and Patricia Pierotti live just down the street from Palmer.
These neighbors said they hired Lenhart to build log cabins in Hideaway Harbor, on property they purchased from Alabama Land Partners, which according to a state records search is tied to National Land Partner’s.
"We felt that he was being represented to us by Alabama Land Partners, so we didn't question that," Patricia Pierotti said.
They all told Action News Jax that Lenhart took their money and failed to deliver all he promised.
"He walked off the job and I was left with finishing the rest of it," John Pierotti said.
Tony Hodges of Ponte Vedra Beach told Kelton a similar story. He bought land in Deep Creek Plantation, in Bryceville.
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Hodges told Kelton he first heard of Lenhart at a sales event.
Kelton asked Hodges, "So National Land Partners was introducing Marvin Lenhart as one of its builders?" Hodges replied, "Correct."
Hodges showed Kelton a text message from the sales representative providing Lenhart's contact information.
Kelton called National Land Partners' Massachusetts headquarters. The company's general council said they were never in business with Marvin Lenhart and had no idea he was not licensed to build in any of the five states he claims to have worked.
A Florida investigation, which includes a copy of Action News Jax reports, National Land Partners General Council Michelle Manners "felt bad at having introduced Lenhart" to a local man and settled with him for $85,000.
In a handwritten note to Florida investigators, Lenhart admits to have known about the settlement but fails to mention what he did with the $80,000 Jack and Donna Check paid him.
Records show Lenhart now lives in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Kelton's calls and texts to him were not returned.
On September 30, Jack Cheek dropped his federal lawsuit against Lenhart because the process server was unable to find him and serve the documents. So, it appears Lenhart has been able to walk away with at least $80,000.
“What would you say to Marvin Lenhant?” Kelton asks.
"I would tell him he's a cheat and he lies, and I believe he plays games with other people's money," Palmer said.
"He put a damper on our dream," Patricia Pierotti said, adding "If there's some way Marvin could go to jail that's where he belongs,"
But Lenhart won't go to jail, at least not in Florida. The State Attorney's Office confirms it will not file criminal charges against Lenhart, saying instead it's a civil matter.
Florida has essentially banned Lenhart from building in the state, and Alabama has also cited him as an unlicensed builder.
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