A thrice-bankrupt man convicted of multiple breaches of building regulations and subject to warnings in two states is now accused of leaving customers in the lurch in a fresh jurisdiction. An ABC investigation has found that Steve Preston, who has been named and shamed by consumer authorities in Western Australia and Queensland, is offering to build tiny homes and cabins in northern New South Wales.Mr Preston, who has used multiple aliases over the years, presented as a "very genuine" older guy with a "solid handshake", recalled Leigh Peters, who paid $78,000 to the self-proclaimed builder to construct two tiny homes.WA and Queensland authorities have issued warnings about Steve Preston. (Supplied: Chris Blewitt)Mr Peters, a father-of-two who owns a motel in Grafton, was hoping to use the self-contained units to accommodate staff amid a housing shortage in the area.But when things started to go wrong, Mr Peters, 36, looked more deeply into the past of his builder and was shocked."You don't feel like when you hire a local builder in a country town, you're going to come across [someone] with a very bad history," Mr Peters said.When contacted by the ABC, Mr Preston declined to comment, citing pending legal matters but would not say anything further about them. Leigh Peters says he is $30,000 out of pocket over his ordeal with Steve Preston. (Supplied: Leigh Peters)History of unlicensed work across AustraliaIn 2007 the Western Australia Supreme Court permanently restrained Mr Preston from representing himself as a registered builder in that state.A press release from the consumer watchdog at the time said the court order came after he took deposits of up to $50,000 from unknowing customers in Perth, and carried out unregistered building work.The Western Australian building regulator labelled Mr Preston a "maverick" and a "menace". "This is about as bad as conduct that infringes the Fair Trading Act gets," then Consumer Protection Commissioner Patrick Walker said at the time in a media release."Mr Preston has had absolutely no regard for the law or the interests of consumers."The back of the motel where Leigh Peters was planning to put the two cabins he had purchased. (Supplied: Leigh Peters)In 2009, the Perth Magistrates Court and then the Midlands Magistrates Court fined Mr Preston a total of more than $60,000 for 19 charges relating to unregistered building work and excessive deposit taking.By then Mr Preston was living in northern NSW where he had already come to the attention of the state's consumer watchdog.NSW Fair Trading became aware of a building company that was registered to someone linked to Mr Preston.The building company, which operated in the Tweed Shire and New England regions, had its licence cancelled because of its close associations with Mr Preston.Mr Preston was hit with nine penalty notices by NSW Fair Trading with fines totalling $22,000 for breaches relating to failing to obtain building insurance, and for entering into building contracts without meeting proper requirements.A customer was concerned about the quality of a shed Steve Preston built. (Supplied: Chris Blewitt)The ABC has spoken to several people who say they have been left out of pocket. (Supplied: Chris Blewitt)Next stop, QueenslandMr Preston then went to Queensland, where in 2014, the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC) issued a public warning saying that Mr Preston had been conducting unlicensed building work in the Proserpine area. "The QBCC warns all persons dealing with Steve Preston to exercise extreme caution and seek legal advice before entering into contracts or making any payments, to protect their interests," read a media release at the time.Banned for peddling unlicensed financial adviceBefore Mr Preston's foray into the world of building, the financial regulator ASIC banned him from giving financial advice due to his involvement in an unlicenced superannuation scheme.In 2005, a Federal Court judge granting injunctions in civil proceedings brought by ASIC said Mr Preston "embarked upon a scheme which he hoped would yield him a substantial profit" which involved the "gullibility" of clients "rolling over" their superannuation into a trust account established by his company.At least 30 people gave more than $77,000 in total to the company.In the case of one client, the judge said it seemed their money was "then used for the company's, or Mr Preston's, own purposes", labelling it "unconscionable conduct".Mr Preston was prevented from giving out unlicensed financial advice again.Bankruptcy documents and warnings from regulators show he has used the aliases Steve Brown and Steve Fowler.He was formerly known as Gordon Fowler, a name under which he declared himself bankrupt three times in 1994, 1999 and 2006.Preston offers to supply cabins in NSWIn 2024, Mr Peters met Mr Preston, who was running a company called Clarence Product and Building Materials Supply.Mr Peters was shown several tiny homes at a site in Grafton before he agreed to pay $80,000 for two of them to be built offsite and transported to an empty spot behind his motel business."It was very appealing, the price," Mr Peters said. "And [he said] that we wouldn't need to go through council."Leigh Peters has had no luck getting his money back, despite engaging the NSW Sheriff's Office. (Supplied: Leigh Peters)In a statement to the ABC, Clarence Valley Council said it required development approvals for all secondary dwellings, including tiny homes."Some developments, such as small sheds, can be exempt from development approval," a spokesperson said. Mr Peters said he insisted a contract be drawn up for the two tiny homes, which, in hindsight, he thought was "unprofessional" that the builder had not suggested.The young father said he received "random" text messages from Mr Preston asking for another $10,000 here, another $10,000 there, and before he knew it, he had paid the sum total of the project. But when he visited Mr Preston's site to see the progress of his investment, he said he found "panelling slapping in the wind", shoddy tiling and a bad plaster job.Mr Peters said the two men came to the agreement that a refund would be paid, but after a small portion was returned, the payments stopped coming. Mr Peters took the company to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal in April last year and won a $66,000 order for his refund. However, Mr Peters said the payments stopped coming at the end of last year and he was still out of pocket about $30,000.He said he chased up Mr Preston to no avail, and paid $107 to the NSW Sheriff's Office in Grafton, which "unsuccessfully" tried to enforce the court order in May.Leigh Peters has not received a payment from Steve Preston since November last year. (Supplied: Leigh Peters)In a statement to the ABC, a Department of Communities and Justice spokesperson said the sheriff "made multiple attempts to establish contact with the debtor" which included phone calls, letters and visiting his address. The spokesperson said the matter "remains active". Supplier left in lurchAnother Grafton business owner, Mick Earea of Western Pacific Steel, said Mr Preston's company Clarence Product and Materials Supply opened an account to buy steel at the beginning of last year.Debt soon racked up, according to Mr Earea."I approached him [and he said] it was all going to be fixed up," he said.Mr Earea said Mr Preston paid some of what he owed, but that he still had an outstanding debt of $7,000 for which he had received no payments since the beginning of the year.'Needs to be stopped'Chris Blewitt, from the NSW south coast, said he paid $63,000 to Mr Preston in 2021 but the builder failed to complete two sheds and decking in his backyard.The 49-year-old said the job was supposed to be done in six weeks. Steve Preston builds a shed in Chris Blewitt's backyard. (Supplied: Chris Blewitt)He said the offer was appealing, especially as the area, near Batemans Bay, was recovering from devastating bushfires at the time and builders were in short supply. "The way he talked made you feel like he was your mate and he was helping you build something in your backyard rather than a business," Mr Blewitt said.He said the only thing he had as a contract was a handwritten quote on a piece of paper.Mr Preston asked for an initial $15,000 to buy building materials, which the Blewitt family transferred.Work was being carried out in his backyard, so when Mr Preston asked for more money, Mr Blewitt saw nothing wrong with complying. Chris Blewitt says he was concerned about how the shed appeared to be propped up in his sloping backyard. (Supplied: Chris Blewitt)Chris Blewitt later learnt that Steve Preston was not a registered builder. (Supplied: Chris Blewitt)Mr Blewitt said the requests for money happened several times until he had transferred the price of the entire project, after which, he said Mr Preston would then come sporadically.When weeks dragged into months, Mr Blewitt became concerned and said he wanted $15,000 back so he could hire someone else to finish the project.Mr Preston argued that meant that Mr Blewitt had effectively terminated the contract. Eventually he learned Mr Preston had moved to Grafton."He wouldn't return my calls, any emails didn't come back, and he'd left town," he said.Mr Blewitt estimated it cost him up to $15,000 to fix defects and finish off the job before he made a report to NSW Fair Trading about his experience.In his complaint to Fair Trading, Mr Blewitt said the sheds were incomplete and had defects including damaged Colorbond, inadequate waterproofing and no footings."Steve Preston has caused so much damage and can't seem to take any responsibility for it and continues to blame everyone else," Mr Blewitt's statement to NSW Fair Trading said."He needs to be stopped so that no one else has to go through the heartache and loss that he has caused."Chris Blewitt's shed has gaps around the door and walls. (Supplied: Chris Blewitt)NSW Fair Trading fined Mr Preston $3,000 in 2022 for breach of the Home Building Act, but said no complaints had been lodged against him since.The NSW Building Commission, which is now the regulator for the state's building industry, said it "strongly" encouraged anyone to make a complaint if they had encountered unlicensed work or contracting, excessive deposit taking or non-compliance with insurance requirements."These offences can cause significant detriment to the public and can result in fines, or where repeated offences occur, action on a contractor licence and/or legal proceeding," the spokesperson said.