Convicted felon banned from ever working in NC after being arrested again on fraud charges

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A convicted felon, who has been arrested multiple times for similar crimes detailed by the ABC11 Troubleshooter, is now banned from ever working in North Carolina again.

Roger Dale Simmons is no stranger to legal troubles. He first got on the ABC11 Troubleshooter's radar in 2018 due to reports he was taking money for contract work and not finishing jobs. By then, he was already a convicted felon and had multiple complaints against him in North Carolina, Virginia and Texas.

In 2019, Simmons pleaded guilty to multiple criminal charges and again served time behind bars.

Three years later, Simmons appeared to be at it again. Multiple homeowners in Cary and Apex reported hiring Simmons but then either receiving shoddy work or not having work completed at all.

Those allegations happened in March and June of 2022. Investigators have been searching for Simmons for over a year, trying to take him into custody on criminal charges related to these complaints.

Finally, on Nov. 1, investigators caught up with Simmons.

He was booked into Wake County Detention Center on charges of fraud related to his contracting work.

Simmons will now have his case work through the judicial system. However, a judge ruled against him on Friday, Nov. 3 in a case brought by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein.

In that case, Stein argued that Simmons was a habitual felon that continued to prey on North Carolina homeowners and take their money. The judge agreed and banned Simmons from taking work in the state; the judge also ordered Simmons to pay more than $139,000 to 10 different victims.

Stein wants to ban Simmons from ever working in the state again.

"We're going pursue this as long as it takes, and we hopefully, we'll get money back for people," NC Attorney General Stein said in a previous interview with ABC11. "But we definitely want a permanent injunction that says he cannot do this anymore in the future, so that if he violates that he will be in contempt of court, and subject to the full penalties of the judge."