A Parker County contractor was arrested in connection with a months-long investigation into trust fraud and theft. According to Parker County Sheriff Russ Authier, investigators began looking into the case in August after a homeowner reported being scammed by the contractor.
The homeowner, who hired 37-year-old Kevin Malcom Wilkerson of NTX Fence in January to build a custom pipe and wooden fence, paid $38,000 in full for the project. Wilkerson completed about a month of work but never returned to finish the job. Despite several months of attempts by the homeowner to contact Wilkerson and resolve the issue, Wilkerson refused to return the funds or complete the project.
Sheriff’s investigators contacted Wilkerson, who claimed that the homeowner’s money was being held in a bank account that was frozen due to an unrelated civil dispute. However, after obtaining a subpoena for Wilkerson's bank records, investigators found that the account was not frozen. They discovered that Wilkerson had stopped making deposits into his business account after receiving the victim’s payment, and that he was using the account for personal expenses.
Further investigation revealed that Wilkerson had not set up a proper contractor’s account for the project, leaving an estimated $9,000 worth of work unfinished.
On November 22, Wilkerson turned himself in and was booked into the Parker County Jail on felony charges of theft of property and misapplication of trust funds.
Sheriff Authier is urging anyone who believes they may have been scammed to contact their local law enforcement agency.
