A Wichita Falls homebuilder was jailed after being accused of theft by fraud.
Ricardo Sandoval, owner of Desilu Properties, was arrested by Wichita Falls Police on Friday on a charge of misapplication of fiduciary property or property of financial institution.
Sandoval was free Monday from the Wichita County Jail on $250,000 in bail.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent unless convicted in a court of law.
According to allegations in an arrest affidavit, a law office filed a report with Wichita Falls police on Sept. 24, claiming that in November 2023, Sandoval made a deal with a client to build a new house under an agreement that Union Square Credit Union would hold funds for the project.
The police investigator wrote that an audit revealed a “complex construction fraud scheme designed to commit theft through misapplication and disbursement of funds” from the account.
Investigators allege Sandoval “altered invoice amounts and submitted fake invoices for amounts larger than the original invoices billed.”
The affidavit claims documents presented to Union Square were fraudulent and describes incidents where one building materials business did not receive payment of money drawn from the institution and a subcontractor for Sandoval learned his invoice for $5,000 was altered to $45,000.
The investigator said another subcontractor claimed his business information was used to create a fake invoice request for a draw of $100,000.
“The fraud method led to a loss of over $300,000 in subcontractor payments, building material loss, false billing, self-payment, fraudulent draw request losses, and funds to complete the project,” the investigator wrote in allegations.
The investigator wrote he learned of two other people who may have become Sandoval’s victims.
The Wichita Falls Police Department financial crimes detectives are concerned that more of local residents may be victims of the alleged rip-off scheme.
Wichita Falls police on Monday encouraged anyone who may have contracted Sandoval for work in the past, to check all involved documents or ledgers involving the specific project for which he was paid.
“If you believe you are a victim, please call the WFPD at 940-761-7792 and make a report of the offense,” WFPD said.
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Wichita Falls homebuilder charged in alleged fraud scheme
