Authorities – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth
A Rockwall County man was arrested at DFW Airport on July 15 while boarding a flight to Cancun, the Parker County Sheriff’s Office said.
According to authorities, a lengthy investigation found that Richard Wortham, 37, set up company names of non-existent construction companies and took money to work on construction jobs before he never showed up.
In early July, an arrest warrant was issued against Wortham for property theft, the authorities said.
A Rockwall County man suspected of construction fraud was arrested at DFW airport while boarding a flight to Cancun on July 15, the Parker County sheriff’s office said.
When the 37-year-old man boarded a flight to Cancun, Mexico, on July 15, DFW airport police arrested him and notified the sheriff’s office.
Authorities said an investigation began earlier this year when a complaint was filed against Wortham.
According to the complaint, Wortham, the owner of Seventy 18 Construction, signed a contract in January for the pouring of concrete and the supply of metal for various construction works.
But after receiving a payment of $ 26,350 and signing the contract, Wortham never showed up to begin construction, authorities said.
Investigators worked with JP Morgan Chase fraud investigators who discovered that Wortham did not use the funds to make any business purchase or transaction.
Instead, the man used the funds from the contract for personal and travel expenses.
According to the authorities, the alleged fraud was not a one-time torture.
The Laramie County Sheriff’s office in Wyoming was investigating Wortham for similar fraud cases where the man signed contracts before he kept payments and never performed the contracted service.
According to investigators, Wortham had established several company names in Colorado, Oklahoma, and Utah in addition to Texas and Wyoming.
His company’s social media pages contained photos downloaded from Pinterest that were not owned by Wortham, authorities said.
Wortham was sent to a local prison on July 16, the day after his arrest.
On July 24th, he was released with a $ 30,000 bond.
The sheriff’s office said the case had been referred to the Parker County Attorney’s Office.
[ad_1]