HENDERSONVILLE, NC (WTVD) — attorney general Josh Stein is suing a business owner accused of price gouging after Hurricane Helene.

Lorenzo Huggins, Sr. and his businesses including Huggins & Sons Yard Service and Lorenzo & Son Landscaping, for allegedly raising prices for North Carolina residents for tree removal services.

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

Instead of removing trees and tree debris from the house and yard, according to the lawsuit, workers threw limbs and tree debris through the hole in the roof and into the house, causing a tree to fall on a wall.

Because Huggins did not complete the tree removal and cleanup, the couple had to hire and pay additional contractors.

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“As western North Carolina continues to clean up and rebuild after the hurricane, I want them to be aware of the pricing,” Stein said in a news release. “If you take advantage of people in their time of need and charge them unfair, excessive prices, my office will hold you accountable.”

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

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