Suspected North Texas Construction Scammer Arrested Before Flight to Cancun: Authorities

A Rockwall County man was arrested at DFW Airport as he was boarding a flight to Cancun on July 15, the Parker County Sheriff's Office said.

According to authorities, a lengthy investigation found that Richard Wortham, 37, was setting up business names of non-existent construction companies and taking money to work on construction jobs before never showing up.

A warrant was issued in early July for Wortham on theft of property charges, authorities said.

When the 37-year-old man was boarding a flight to Cancun, Mexico on July 15, DFW Airport police arrested him and notified the sheriff's office.

Authorities said an investigation began early this year when a complaint was filed about Wortham.

According to the complaint, Wortham, the owner of Seventy 18 Construction, entered into a contract to pour concrete and provide metal for various construction jobs in January.

But after he received a payment of $26,350 and signed the contract, Wortham never showed up to start the construction work, authorities said.

Investigators worked with fraud investigators from JP Morgan Chase, who found that Wortham did not use the funds for any business purchases or transcations.

Instead, the man used the funds from the contract for personal and travel expenses.

According to authorities, the suspected fraud wasn't a one-time ordeal.

The Laramie County Sheriff's Office in Wyoming was investigating Wortham for similar fraud cases, where the man entered into contracts before keeping the payments and never providing the contracted service.

According to investigators, Wortham had set up multiple business names in Colorado, Oklahoma and Utah along with Texas and Wyoming.

The social media pages for his business included downloaded photographs from Pinterest that did not belong to Wortham, authorities said.

Wortham was booked into a local jail on July 16, one day after he was arrested.

He was released on a $30,000 bond on July 24.

The sheriff's office said the case was forwarded to the Parker County District Attorney's Office.