Lies, Damn Lies and Ben Hunter

One thing that will happen when you get an email from people scammed by Ben Hunter is the line in the email where they tell you they have figured out that he has lied to them. Without exception, every contact I have had with anyone that has done business with Ben, has mentioned the lies that tumble out of his mouth. And so, discussing the lies he tells certainly merits its own tab on our website.

Lillian Hellman wrote in her play The Little Foxes, "God forgives those who invent what they need". Lillian Hellman was a notorious liar. Someone once said of her that "every word she writes, including 'and' and 'the', is a lie". Paul Johnson's title for the Lillian Hellman chapter in his book Intellectuals is called "Lies, Damn Lies and Lillian Hellman", and so because Ben reminds me of Lillian so much, as a tribute, I have titled this section of my dear little website in the same fashion.

Quite a few people have asked me why Ben lies so much. The answer is we will probably not ever know. There are several good articles written on why people lie, here is one.

Here are some of the lies Ben will tell you:
1. He's sick: the stories vary. He has cancer. He has heart failure. He has cancer and heart failure. He has thyroid problems, kidney problems. It's terminal. He's dying. None of that is true. There is a possibility that Ben does have a thyroid condition because of the bulging eyes that we all have witnessed. However Exophthalmos (bulging eyes) can be caused by other things and not just thyroid issues, including things like hypertension.

2. He was in the US army: Nope. He was not ever in the Navy Seals, Delta Force or the Rangers, which are lies he often tells. He says things like "oh I was stationed with the Navy Seals/Green Berets/Delta Force/Rangers to provide them training and was sent to the US by the Israeli Special Forces." Nope. LIE. He has told people he was in the Israeli Intelligence. LIE. That he trained K-9 dogs in the military. LIE. While it is most likely true that he did serve in the Israeli Armed Forces (the IDF), the fantastical stories of his service are most certainly false.

3. He and Moe are cousins. Lie.

4. His wife is a doctor. Lie. Jaqueline Elizabeth Toft Hunter loves to larp as an ER Doctor. She is an RN. She has worked at an eating disorder facility and then after than worked at Kaiser in the psych department. I don't know if she ever worked in the ER, but she LOVES to tell you she's a doctor, which she is not. Various people have reported that she backpedals and says that she has a PhD when people don't quite believe her. Multiple family members have confirmed she does not have a PhD. She even lies to her AirBnB hosts about being an ER doc, telling everyone tales of her impossible feats saving lives. It seems that to be married to Ben Hunter you have to be able to lie. Not just able, but incorporate it into your everyday life with no remorse.

5. He runs an animal shelter and rescues animals. Lie. In fact, we have proof that at least one of his dogs was bought at a breeder overseas.

6. That he has done construction work for judges, famous people in Hollywood, LAPD, high ranking government officials etc. This is a LIE.

7. That he is an informant to the FBI/CIA etc. I cannot verify this is a lie for obvious reasons (and anyone can submit a tip to the FBI - hey I'm now an FBI informant!), so it is up to you to decide the veracity of this statement.

8. That his subcontractors are licensed, do good work and are so happy to work for them. LIE. In fact, most (if not all of his subs - Kevin, Kevin's father, and Kevin's brother Jorge, Chako, Eliezar etc) are NOT licensed. And none of them do good work. Also, they have all complained about working for Ben and Moe, saying that they had trouble getting paid and that when they did pay them, it was less than they agreed on and they would have to chase them for the money owed to them. Multiple subs note that they had to go to Ben's house to get a check from Jacqueline, who would say that she is Ben's sister. This story takes on almost a biblical narrative, reminding me of the narrative of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis chapter 12.

9. That the reviews up on their website are real and genuine. And that they have lots of customers that recommend them and would use them again. Lies. The reviews are fake, the photos are fake. The "customers" on Facebook, Nextdoor, Google reviews, Facebook reviews, Yelp, Buildzoom and Houzz are all real. They are not.

10. That you still owe them money. LIES. They will not follow the payment schedule, they will confuse, conflate and use their attorney to bully you out of more money. And after all of this, they then send some scuzzy collections agent after you because you have not paid out the entire contract.

11. That your house needs more work and they need a decision NOW.

The lies function a few ways with Ben and Moe. Firstly, it's so that you have a "connection". That you have things in common with them, that you like them and hire them.

They then lie to you about the fact that additional work needs to be done on your house - the foundation needs work urgently! You need a rewiring! You need to fix the 1, 2, and 3 before it does more damage.

Then they lie to you about the money. More money. And more money. Always MORE MORE. Then the threats. The menacing behavior. Name calling. Anger. This is often tempered by more mellow moments when the offer to do things for free (that never happen) and gift cards to restaurants. When put on paper, it seems so obvious that this pattern is the same as an abusive relationship.

I do think that Ben has told so many lies now that he might not know how to tell the truth. Have you ever caught Ben or Moe in a lie? Please email us! Anonymity guaranteed.