EDINBURGH, Ind. — The owner and operator of an Edinburgh fence company has been indicted on fraud charges after allegedly collecting more than $100,000 from individuals and then failing to deliver the products.
According to court documents filed in Bartholomew County, Jamie Graham was indicted on 12 counts of fraud involving losses ranging from $750 to $50,000, a Level 6 felony. Each count stems from a complaint filed against Graham by a customer of Fence Boss LLC.
Various law enforcement agencies, including the Columbus Police Department, Bartholomew County Sheriff's Office and Greensburg Police Department, received multiple reports of theft and fraud involving Fence Boss LLC. Through 12 complaints, the company received $103,438.51, but none of the customers received their fences, according to the report.
During the investigation, authorities discovered that Graham never ordered any of the materials or provided any of the services for which the company was paid.
Graham reportedly cited a number of reasons for not being able to complete the work, including a family emergency, supplier issues, staffing shortages, inclement weather, and COVID-19. In October, Graham reportedly filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
In one case, a woman paid the company more than $18,000 for a fence in Columbus after Mr. Graham allegedly told her construction was being delayed because of a fatal accident at a factory where she ordered materials, according to documents.
Investigators spoke with several former employees of Fence Boss LLC, one of whom told investigators that Graham received payments from clients and used them to pay salaries, unpaid payroll taxes, housing, medical bills and personal expenses.
Another employee said she “had a warning sign” about the company's financial situation within her first 90 days on the job. The employee said there were times when she wasn't paid.
“[The employee]said something along the lines of, '(Graham) would basically take money from Peter to pay Paul, but he would never take money from Peter to pay Paul within the company,'” the employee told investigators.
The same employee reportedly told Graham that he needed to close Fence Boss LLC because he couldn't pay employees, couldn't pay taxes, couldn't honor contracts and had bounced checks, according to the documents.
Employees also stressed that Graham would reportedly lock the doors to the business and have people banging on the door if they saw customers entering who had already paid.
