ALLEGED SCAMMER ADMITS TO BEING ON THE RUN
Tuesday, November 13th, 2007 -- 10:20 AM
The Marshfield NewsHerald reports they were contacted by a Neillsville man charged with stealing $45,000 in an alleged house-building scam.According to the article, 31-year-old Richard H. Harrison Jr. said he is "on the run," trying to elude authorities in an effort to gather evidence to prove he's not guilty of the charges of misappropriating a buyer's prepayment and failure to return payment upon contract cancellation.
Harrison, who is the owner of Harrison Recycling Center, faces 12 years in prison and could be fined $35,000.
The article quotes Harrison as saying, "I am currently on the run. I hate to say that. It's the worst thing ever."
According to court records, Last October, Harrison allegedly accepted $45,000 from a woman who was displaced after a fire destroyed her home. He was to build the shell of a new house by November or December, instead, court records show, he used the advance payment to buy a new T.V., furniture, a horse and ATV.
He never got around to building the house.
The woman demanded the return of building supplies and the remaining money, but he didn't return them.
Harrison claims he returned so much money to the woman at her request that he couldn't afford to finish the house.
However, he kept no receipts of the transactions.
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