OGDEN — The owner of a cabinet company is now facing fraud charges in two separate cases and police fear there may be more victims.
Trace Jon Conlin, 41, of Farr West, was charged in Weber County’s 2nd District Court Monday with four counts of communications fraud and four counts of theft, second-degree felonies; theft, a third-degree felony; and contracting without a license, a class A misdemeanor.
Those charges come on the heels of similar accusations in Davis County. Conlin was charged in Davis County on March 5 with two counts of communications fraud, a second-degree felony and a third-degree felony; and two counts of failing to comply with a citation, a class A misdemeanor.
Conlin operated Riverbend Cabinets and claimed he was a licensed contractor, according to the Weber County Sheriff’s Office.
“Conlin would solicit business and require payment up front. Once paid, Conlin would do little to no work on the home, leaving the victim’s home in disarray and out the money,” the sheriff's office said.
The fraud dates back to 2017, according to court records.
“There is an obvious pattern showing that Trace is intending to defraud people out of money. Trace will give a bid for work, then he has the victims give him half of the cost or sometimes more. Trace will show up and do minimal to no work and from what some victims have explained, poor work or work that was never discussed. Before any or all the work is complete, Trace will continue to fail to show up and give all kinds of excuses as to why,” according to charging documents filed in Weber County.
The Weber County charges identify five victims or victim couples who allegedly lost money to Conlin. The Davis County charges identify two victims.
“During the months of March 2017 to August 2017, victims paid defendant Trace Conlin approximately $6,700 to complete their yard. The defendant never completed the yard. During the months of May 2019 to July 2019, victims paid defendant Trace Conlin approximately $3,058.71 to complete a downstairs bathroom and kitchenette. The defendant did not complete the work he was paid to do. Information from the Divisional of Occupational and Professional Licensing reveals that the defendant has never held a contractor’s license.”
Detectives believe there are additional victims and encourage anyone who did business with Conlin or Riverbend Cabinets to contact police in the city they were living in at the time.