New York HVAC Contractor Busted Again

I-Team 10 investigation: Contractor at it again?


A local contractor is temporarily banned from operating a home improvement business. That order came today as a judge hears evidence that James Sudore continued to defraud customers even after agreeing to change his ways. The attorney general is now taking him to court, accusing him of contempt.

James Sudore told a judge four years ago that he would pay back customers he ripped off and agreed to change his practices in order to keep operating but the state says he has continued to take money for work he never completed and he never paid back his previous victims. Now Sudore finds himself in court on contempt charges facing new customer complaints.

Sudore owns a company called New York Heating and Chimney Services and Air Conditioning but court papers filed by the attorney general's office accuse him of fraudulent and deceptive business practices.

The state says he has taken deposits from customers and failed to return to do the work. In 2004 he agreed to reimburse 18 consumers and pay a fine for doing the same thing but he admitted in court he largely ignored that order.

The attorney general's office says he should be put in jail. “Mr. Sudore got an attorney and promised to comply with the law. When he took money from consumers, he was going to deposit it in an escrow account and pay restitution to victims and to this date he's only paid $3,500 out of a $27,000 judgment,” said Carlos Rodriguez.

I-Team 10’s Brett Davidsen: “You can't tell us why you never made good on your debts?”
James Sudore: "Just, unfortunately sometimes things go wrong, but I’m here today to try to resolve something."

Sudore will return to court next week as the attorney general's office plans to bring in customers who claim they were scammed and his legal problems only look to get more complicated.

He was charged this past spring in criminal court on felony grand larceny charges related to more customer complaints. That case is now before a grand jury.