At least one person has sued an area businessman claiming that he took money, then failed to deliver the high-speed Internet service he'd been paid for.
Rappahannock County General District Court records show that Cory Koral sued Tom Gordon for approximately $1,700. Koral filed the suit in November.

A judge ruled in his favor at a Jan. 8 hearing, but Koral said he still hasn't gotten his money.
"I needed high-speed Internet access, and I saw a demonstration of Tom Gordon's system in Little Washington about a year ago," Koral said. "I contacted Tom, and he explained that he needed to put a trunk line in at Flint Hill in order to provide the system for everyone, so I kept in touch with him for several months."
But after Koral gave Gordon a down payment for the system, he said Gordon became elusive.
"He has four kids, so I didn't think he'd run off," Koral said. "I've been trying to get my money back since the fall. I've been awarded judgment, but I can't actually get the money until someone can find him."
In addition to filing suit, Koral said he has enlisted a collection agency to try to get his money back. Those efforts have also been unsuccessful.
According to court documents, Koral isn't the only person trying to recoup funds from Gordon.

L.D. Savage and John Colvin Wyatt each sued Gordon and E-Office Experts in Rappahannock County General District Court in March. The warrant-in-debt cases each pertained to"open accounts."

Gordon said he is aware of some "small claims" cases against him, but that he did not know about the judgments.

"I don't dispute that there are people who have paid for the service that haven't gotten it," Gordon said. "[And] I don't dispute that I have been hard to reach. My current office situation is not one in which I can be easily reached."

Gordon said he has successfully provided high-speed Internet access to 40 customers in Fauquier and Rappahannock counties. He said he also has 40 customers who have yet to receive the service.

Gordon went on to say that "businesses capitalization issues" — namely a lack of funding, materials and time — have kept him from providing the service to those who are still waiting for it.

He maintains that in all but one case, he and his customers did not enter into any type of written contract. Gordon also maintains that he never set a specific time frame for installation of the system.
Melissa Estremera of Rappahannock is another customer who said she has been unable to get the high-speed Internet access Gordon promised.

She said she has also been unable to get a refund.
"[Tom Gordon] was going door-to-door in our area talking about putting a relay point on the mountain for a high-speed Internet service," Estremera recalled. "He was looking for four people to commit to the service and said that if we each gave him $795, he would give each of us one year of free Internet service."
Estremera said she and three other people each gave Gordon the money. They were then told it would take Gordon two to three weeks to get the "antenna" set up on the mountain, and Gordon would then come over to install their high-speed Internet systems in their homes.
"I didn't hear anything further from him for two months. I [finally] talked to a secretary at his office about getting a refund, and she said it wasn't a problem, that I could get one in 30 days," Estremera said. "I never got a refund. I left several messages [for Gordon] but they've never returned the calls."
Estremera said she also spoke to Rappahannock County Sheriff Connie Compton Smith about Gordon and learned that several people had filed civil suits against him. Estremera said she also learned that no one had been able to find Gordon at any of his known addresses.
Smith could not be reached for comment.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com