The families bilked out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by a local contractor spoke of the ensuing affects they suffered at his June 11 sentencing hearing.

Michael Alan Hubbard, 35, formerly of Troy, also spoke during the hearing. Hubbard pleaded guilty by Alford to two felony counts of theft in November 2025. 

An Alford plea permits a defendant to plead guilty without actually admitting guilt. By entering an Alford plea, a defendant acknowledges that the prosecution likely has enough evidence to convict them, while still asserting their innocence. 

Deputy county attorney Jeff Zwang stood in for Lauren M. O’Neill and argued successfully why Hubbard should pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in restitution.

Hubbard attorney Maury Solomon sought to lessen the amount of money his client must pay, but to no avail.

Ultimately, Hubbard avoided prison time when District Judge Matt Cuffe sentenced the guilty man to two 5-year suspended terms in the Montana State Prison. He received credit for serving two days in the Lincoln County Detention Center after his arrest. Two $10,000 fines were also suspended as Cuffe said the hope was that Hubbard wouldn’t be shackled by the fines while he tries to pay restitution.

Cuffe ordered $85,093.78 restitution paid to the Johnson family and $418,413.08 to the Waggoner family.                                      

The sentences were part of a plea deal negotiated in November 2025 between Solomon and O’Neill. The only debate was how much money Hubbard must pay back.

Solomon didn’t object to restitution of more than $180,000 to the Waggoner couple, both educators, victimized by Hubbard’s actions, but he didn’t believe his client should pay the full amount of $418,413.08.

“We take exception to the defense’s stance on the victim’s restitution,” Zwang said. “Some of the money was for rent, storage and other expenses the couple paid because Hubbard didn’t finish building their home on Crow Court in the Lake Creek Ranch subdivision. They were forced to move to Washington state because they had sold their home in New Mexico and spent a great deal of it to have their new home built in Montana.

“Because the work was not finished and in a poor state, the (couple) has not been able to sell the property due to its condition. They may not be able to ever own a home and their life savings are gone,” Zwang said.

One of the Waggoners gave an impact statement at Hubbard’s sentencing.

“We’re the victims of a massive fraud,” she said. “We’re still unable to own a home and we still struggle with our finances. It’s affected our mental health, too.”

She recalled the good times her and her husband had in Montana since 2016.

“We loved the wildlife that live here and we enjoyed the company of the friendly people we met here,” she said. “A realtor recommended Hubbard to us and we hired him to build our home. He assured us he could do it.”

Hubbard’s deceit also was costly to other Waggoner family members.

“Two of my family members were refugees because of the war in Ukraine and we were looking forward to having them live with us,” she said. “Hubbard knew all of this, but he didn’t care.”

She also said her and her husband, who battled cancer and survived, had to move in with his parents in Washington state in an attempt to put things back together.  

“We paid off our house in 2012 in New Mexico and now we have great concerns of not receiving restitution and we ask you to use the full force of the law against him,” she said. “We also wonder where the money is. Is there someone holding that money?

“Why didn’t he provide bank records?” she asked. “We believe you have the power to hold him accountable.”

Zwang said the investigation didn’t reveal where the money was. He thought it was possible that Hubbard did a poor job of keeping each customer’s money separate.

The Johnson family victimized by Hubbard’s fraud also explained the difficulties they’ve endured.

“His activities prevented us from being close to our family in Montana,” the husband said. “His thievery of $85,000 caused us many problems and not being able to complete the work. We had to negotiate with some local companies to pay invoices that he never paid with the money we gave him.

“We don’t believe Mr. Hubbard will comply with the probation requirements in the state of Montana,” he said. 

Hubbard offered apologies to both families.

“The money was not properly managed and I’m deeply sorry,” Hubbard said. “Regardless of my personal struggles, there’s no excuse for it. When my business and personal life fell apart, I should’ve reached out for help.

“I regret affecting the trust of other small business owners,” he added.

Hubbard also made a statement to Judge Cuffe.

“When my business started to fall apart, the breakdown of my marriage followed,” Hubbard said. “I seek to rebuild my life through hard work, I’ll spend the rest of my days trying to prove myself.”

Hubbard didn’t offer any explanations about the location of the money he stole or how his business failed.

Cuffe, while delivering the sentences, said the resolution was not a perfect one, but an appropriate one.

“I hope you make good on your promises,” Cuffe said to Hubbard.

Two of the victims filed a civil suit Sept. 20, 2024, against Hubbard, Madison Norman, his significant other, and MAV Construction. 

Court records indicate the defendants received summons relating to the fraud complaints, but it isn’t known if they were served. 

In the suit, Exhibit A was another lawsuit filed July 26, 2021, by a couple from Bonner County, Sagle, Idaho. The couple alleged that in an Aug. 19, 2019 meeting with Hubbard, he promised to replace the vinyl siding on their home for $22,495. They agreed and wrote three checks totaling $23,000.

The suit accused Hubbard of not completing the work despite the couple emailing him and sending a certified letter to him. 

Lincoln County court records indicate the Montana Department of Revenue sought back taxes owed by Hubbard and Madison Norman in the amount of $15,468.60. The record also showed the case was closed the same day.

In the case that finally brought Hubbard to justice, in early 2022, the Waggoners bought a 3.5 acre parcel of land on Crow Court in the Lake Creek Ranch Subdivision and hired Hubbard to build a home. They met Hubbard in May. He told them, "there was absolutely no doubt he could do it."

The estimated cost to build was about $900,000, but according to the suit, little work was done on the property. The suit says Hubbard assured them the home would be built by March 2023.

Once they signed a contract with Hubbard to build the house, they rented another property while waiting for work to be completed. The man's parents also moved into the rental property in anticipation of residing in the home after it was built.

Once the contract was signed with the Waggoneers, Hubbard began making financial draws which totaled $535,000, their life savings. In February 2023, the couple told Hubbard they were concerned that he hadn't completed many items of work while still demanding more money. At the time, the home was without windows, doors, siding, roofing and the framing was not complete, the suit alleged.

They met with Hubbard on Feb. 10, 2023, and he said progress would increase. But, in mid-March, work stopped. They said communication with Hubbard became almost impossible and without notice, he sent them two invoices on April 24, totaling $325,000.

The couple sent two emails to Hubbard and he allegedly responded by saying he would breach the contract. The threat prompted them to seek legal help.

According to court documents, Hubbard operated a business under the names of MAV Built Better or MAV Construction LLC.

In a narrative by county deputy Ben Fisher, he received a complaint from a man on April 19 about an alleged theft by Hubbard. The victim said the defendant asked him for several withdrawals from a local credit union to pay invoices and purchase materials for a home building project at a property in Troy.

Deputy Fisher gave evidence he received from the man to county detective Anthony Jenson. Jenson’s report indicated the Johnsons bought a property in Troy in May 2022 and then began working with an architect to design a house. 

On Sept. 12, 2023, the couple met with Hubbard and signed a contract for the defendant to build a house. The couple had a construction loan through the local credit union to pay for the work.

In the affidavit, Jenson said that Hubbard provided the couple estimates and invoices for the project. The first two invoices, for clearing land, a deposit for concrete and excavation, totaled nearly $54,000. Between Nov. 29, 2023 and Dec. 18, 2023, the credit union issued two checks and they were both deposited within days.

According to the alleged victim, Hubbard texted him Dec. 15 and said the house footers were being formed. When Det. Jenson visited the property May 6, 2024, no work on the footers was done.

Another check was issued to MAV Construction on Jan. 18, 2024, for $64,499 for lumber, a truss package, metal siding, roofing and half of the framing labor. Court documents indicate the check was deposited the next day.

The couple visited their property in Troy on Feb. 11, 2024. They asked Hubbard to meet them, but he allegedly never responded. The couple did meet with reps from a company that cleared and excavated the land. The reps expressed their concerns about Hubbard to the couple. 

The couple contacted several building supply stores in the area to see if Hubbard ordered materials for the job and found he hadn’t. They also did some online research and found MAV Construction reportedly had multiple tax liens and other legal problems.

They also learned a local concrete company had not been paid for two deliveries. They asked Hubbard to take care of it, but allegedly he didn’t pay the bills. The couple tried to communicate with Hubbard during the end of February and early March of 2024. He allegedly said he was going through a divorce and his business insurance was going to expire.

March 13, 2024, the couple sent an email and certified letter to Hubbard that terminated the building contract. After they made a report to the county sheriff, Det. Jenson spoke to the victims May 6 and went to the property to see what work was done.

Jenson reported that excavation work was done and a concrete foundation was poured for a shop, but no forms were set for the house foundation. The investigator said two piles of lumber on the property didn’t appear to be enough to build one wall.

Det. Jenson went to a location on East Missoula Avenue in Troy that was listed as an address for Madison Norman, who was in a relationship with Hubbard. The officer reported seeing the woman’s vehicle in an alley and signs for MAV Construction next to a garage.

Det. Jenson reported he spoke to Hubbard on May 6 on the phone and the defendant made many excuses, including that his employees weren’t working hard and he was dealing with marital problems.

The detective determined nearly $79,000 Hubbard received was unaccounted for.