TEXARKANA, Texas–A deck and landscaping contractor already facing fraud charges in Titus County has been accused of similar misconduct with a couple who paid him more than $37,000 to construct a deck and install landscaping at the site of a new home they were building in Texarkana, Texas.
Ashley Bryan Campbell, 41, came to the attention of the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office last month when a private investigator from Mount Pleasant, Texas, contacted an investigator about a woman in Texarkana who claimed Campbell had deceived her when she hired him for a deck and landscaping job.
Using the business names of Extreme Backyard and Decked Out Construction, Campbell allegedly convinced the Texarkana couple to hand over more than $37,000 for materials. Campbell was allegedly supposed to keep the funds in a trust account for the purchase of supplies and provide receipts for expenses. When no work was done, the couple had received no renderings and no receipts were provided upon request, the woman began researching Campbell.
After finding information online that implicated him in similar alleged misconduct the Bowie County woman contacted the private investigator, later meeting with an investigator from the Bowie County Sheriff’s Office.
The Bowie County investigator determined that Campbell is under indictment in Titus County in two separate fraud cases, charges were filed in Bowie County.
Campbell allegedly showed the Bowie County victim documents bolstering his claim to be a skilled contractor and used photos that had been taken from a different landscaping business, passing them off as evidence of his own work.
Campbell allegedly stopped responding to the alleged victims when they demanded receipts or attempted to get a refund.
In Titus County, Campbell is accused of accepting $36,783 from Mid-America Pet Food for the construction of a fence around the property which he never constructed. He is charged in a separate case for allegedly accepting $60,550 from another client for the construction of silo buildings that were never built.
Campbell faces two to ten years in prison if convicted of theft of property, $30,000 to $150,000.
Campbell has been released from the Bowie County jail on a $50,000 bond.
The case has been assigned to 202nd District Judge John Tidwell.
