TEXARKANA, Texas – Two former Gregg Orr Marine & RV employees allegedly worked together over a roughly five-year period to bilk the Texarkana business out of more than $400,000.
Jay Michael Freeman, 43, and Loren Bailey Jones, 34, are currently free on bonds of $75,000 apiece, according to a statement from the Texarkana Texas Police Department. If convicted of theft of property over $300,000, they each face five to 99 years or life in prison.
The scheme to defraud the business began to unravel last year in July when it was discovered that Freeman, Orr Marine’s general manager, had been overpaid $40,000 in bonuses, according to a probable cause affidavit. The company at first believed the overpayment was the result of a “clerical error” by Jones, the store’s controller, the affidavit said.
Freeman was allowed to pay back the bonus overpayment funds over a period of months last year but the situation triggered a sweeping internal investigation of the store’s accounting. That investigation revealed that Freeman and Jones had been working together to allegedly steal from their employer going back as far as 2020, the affidavit said.
Jones was fired from her position Aug. 15 of last year, the same day Freeman resigned, reportedly telling Orr Marine that he had secured other employment. Jones had worked for the company since August 2019 and Freeman had been an employee there since March of 2015.
In September, company management went to police with the findings of their investigation and requested that a criminal investigation be launched, the affidavit said. Both Freeman and Jones were arrested Wednesday, according to TTPD.
In all, police identified 15 “incidents” allegedly involving Freeman and Jones that cost the business $403,575.
Incident #1
Account manipulation related to a 1993 SeaArk watercraft led to a $10,000 loss, the affidavit said. The affidavit does not provide a timeframe for the account manipulation.
Jones allegedly removed the watercraft from the company’s records “through unauthorized cost adjustments” that allowed Freeman to use the SeaArk for personal credit toward a debt he owed to another business.
Incident #2
A new 2021 EZ Trac boat trailer was removed from the company’s inventory in 2021. The trailer was sold to a friend of Freeman’s for $1,500, the affidavit said, noting that TTPD investigators identified the sale through Texas Department of Motor Vehicle records. Jones allegedly assisted Freeman by altering Orr Marine’s records. The loss to the company related to the boat trailer was $4,427, the affidavit said.
Incident #3
Less than a week before Jones was fired and Freeman resigned in August, Freeman requested that the company order a B&W hitch for a recreational vehicle valued at nearly $400, the affidavit said. The hitch was allegedly installed on Freeman’s personal SUV, not an RV for sale at Orr Marine.
Incident #4
Jones allegedly arranged for Freeman to make an unauthorized donation of $500 to a baseball team in 2023. The check made out to “Sticks Thornsberry,” was allegedly listed by Jones as an advertising expense and posted in March “during a busier month in an attempt to hide it.”
Incident #5
In April 2025, Jones allegedly cut an $800 check from Orr Marine to SECA Motorsports that was reportedly used to reupholster Freeman’s 1970s era pickup truck, the affidavit said. Jones allegedly entered the payment as an inventory adjustment to conceal the theft.
Incident #6
In July 2021, Jones allegedly manipulated records related to a customer’s trade in of a 2017 Sea-Doo Wave Runner. The trade in was valued at $6,000. Jones issued Freeman a check for $11,000 for the Wave Runner’s sale via personal consignment after removing the watercraft from the company’s inventory.
Incident #7
The loss of $1,671 relates to the allegedly unauthorized purchases of auto parts and a Southern Athletics Baseball Academy sponsorship. Freeman allegedly has a son who plays baseball and Jones allegedly manipulated the company’s books to hide the theft. A date for this incident was not identified.
Incident #8
Jones allegedly paid a painting vendor $1,250 and listed it in company records as an expense related to a boat’s repair. Of those funds $400 allegedly went toward the payment of a debt Freeman allegedly owed the vendor, resulting in a $400 loss to Orr Marine. A date for this incident was not identified.
Incident #9
Freeman allegedly took a Wet Sounds portable speaker valued at $800 from Orr Marine for his personal use and never paid for or returned the speaker.
Incident #10
Freeman and Jones allegedly used fictitious names or the names of prior customers to conceal the use of funds for personal expenses, the affidavit said. The total loss to this aspect of the long-running alleged embezzlement is $3,418.
Incident #11
In September 2019, Orr Marine issued a customer a $6,000 credit for the trade in of an aluminum fishing boat. Jones allegedly removed the boat from inventory without any record of a sale, the affidavit said.
A man the boat was found to be registered to reportedly told investigators that he had used cash and a golf cart to pay Freeman for the boat and that when the motor went out, Freeman allegedly sent him a new one valued at $4,438 plus $250 for shipping from Orr Marine.
This allegedly resulted in a loss to the company of $10,688 to the company.
Incident #12
In July 2025, Jones allegedly undertook an “unauthorized write-off and reclassification” of a customer’s bill for repairs to a boat at Freeman’s direction.
“Jones altered the cost and concealed it under other accounts,” the affidavit said.
The result of this misconduct was an alleged loss to the company of $448.
Incident #13
In March of 2021, Orr Marine purchased a 2015 Cobalt R7 Ski Wake Boat from a customer for $85,000. Freeman allegedly bought the boat from Orr Marine for $85,000 and then sold it back to the company for $112,000, with Jones issuing Freeman a check related to the alleged fraud for $22,953, the affidavit said.
The affidavit noted that the company requires high-level approval for sales involving employees and such an arrangement would not have been given a green light.
Incident #14
Grouped under this incident by investigators are related to 201 checks that Jones fraudulently issued to Freeman from Jan. 24, 2020, through Aug. 15, 2025, their last day of employment.
The unauthorized checks reportedly represent a total $319,674 loss to Orr Marine.
The checks were made out to a man with the same last name as Freeman for boat deliveries, however, information written on the checks at the time they were cashed allegedly indicated they were cashed by Jay Freeman.
The man to whom the checks were purportedly written told a company representative that he never received a 1099 tax form for boat deliveries because he had not made enough money for one to be required.
“It appeared he had no idea that such a large amount of money in checks was written to him,” the affidavit said.
Incident #15
The final loss incident catalogued by investigators involves a $10,400 check issued by Jones for repairs to a vehicle at a local body shop. The vehicle had apparently been damaged but not reported to the company.
Jones allegedly made it appear in accounting records that the check had been voided when it had actually cleared the bank, costing Orr Marine $10,400.
“Instead of reporting the accident and making the responsible party pay for the damages, Jones and Freeman conspired to bill the company instead,” the affidavit said.