Horseshoe Bay police charge Cedar Park contractor with misusing more than $100k
HORSESHOE BAY — Police say they caught up to a contractor accused of misusing more than $100,000 of a homeowner's construction money while the Cedar Park builder was in court on an unrelated case.
Clifford Wayne Perkins, 31, was charged Feb. 2 with misapplication of fiduciary property. He remained in the Burnet County Jail in lieu of posting a $50,000 bond.
The arrest stemmed from allegations that a contractor misused more than $100,000 of a homeowner's money in a construction fraud case, said Police Chief Bill Lane.
Police were contacted in December about funds that were paid to remodel a home and build an addition.
"This is not the first construction fraud case we have filed and it will not be the last," Lane said in a prepared release. "It is incumbent upon anyone embarking upon such a project to check the references of the contractor and oversee the periodic payment draws."
The total amount could easily hit the $400,000 mark before the investigation is complete, Lane added.
According to court records, Perkins was in County Court-at-Law Judge Randy Savage's courtroom in the Burnet County Courthouse in Burnet to enter a plea on unrelated theft of property charges and an assault case when officers confronted him about the other allegations.
Lane said investigators went through invoices, back records, subcontractor reports and interviewed former employees of Perkins before charging the Cedar Park man.
The chief cautioned homeowners to keep track of any payments they make for construction jobs, as well as supplies that are ordered.
"The failure to do any of these precautionary steps may result in you being defrauded or find that a lien has been filed upon your property by a subcontractor who was never paid," Lane said.
State District Judge Guilford "Gil" Jones issued a warrant for Perkins Jan. 26 in the Horseshoe Bay case.
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
