Najy ‘Mark’ Rayes: Dodgy builder slapped with $16,000 fine after taking deposits and failing to complete work

Hired to fix a fence for $400, a dodgy builder soon began pressuring a female homeowner to agree to more and more work until her bill reached a staggering $46,000. Najy Rayes, also known as Mark Rayes, took almost $20,000 as a deposit before leaving the work “incomplete and defective” in mid-2022 and refusing to provide a refund, the Victorian County Court was told on Thursday. The Cranbourne man was fined $16,000 after pleading guilty to a rolled-up charge of wrongly accepting payment and several summary offences including entering a major domestic building contract without being a registered domestic builder. “Others must be made aware if they engage in conduct such as yours they will be met with significant financial penalties,” Judge Trevor Wraight said after telling Rayes the charge carried a maximum fine of $2.5 million. Rayes was charged by Consumer Affairs Victoria after seven victims came forward detailing their experiences with the builder over the course of 2021 to 2023. In total he received $108,568 in deposits before failing to finish the works, which included landscaping, paving and building projects. Four of his victims had to fork out about $96,000 to other trades to rectify the damage he left, the court was told. Detailing Rayes’ conduct, Judge Wraight said he would often request 50 per cent deposits, increase quotes after beginning works and provide numerous excuses after failing to complete the projects. On one occasion, the court was told, Rayes began shouting and displaying a volatile temper after he was questioned over the increasing payment demands by one woman. He also refused to communicate with a male acquaintance of hers and stated; “don’t run around being a rat, dirty rat, Glen Iris slime” in an incident when the police were called to remove him from the property. On another occasion he was hired by a couple to fix their fence for $400. But after the male travelled overseas, he approached the female victim, stating the fence “needed to be replaced” for $7000 and removed it without her consent. Judge Wraight said the woman “felt she had to agree while there was no other option”, and Rayes became “pushy” later saying he would fix her pergola for $18,000. The court was told Rayes had owned his landscaping, maintenance and design business for 15 years, blaming the offending on mental health decline and drug use due to the death of his father and the Covid-19 pandemic. Judge Wraight said Rayes had since become an active church participant with two character references detailing his faith in god and good character. But he said there was little evidence of remorse beyond a guilty plea, noting he had not “repaid any amount to any victim”. Three of his victims have taken the matter to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, with Rayes ordered to reimburse them. So far, he has failed to comply with those orders, the court was told. Rayes was supported in court by his two children and was seen hugging his lawyer as he left court.