Imagine having your life savings reduced to next to nothing in a matter of months by someone you trust. A 68-year-old grandmother says it happened to her.
Mickie Turner has a mountain of paper work showing where tens of thousands of dollars of her money went--money she didn't spend herself.
It all started when she hired Bob Williams agreed to run her business, Xtreme Hardscapes, in August 2014.
The following month, unbeknownst to Turner at the time, Williams got five years of criminal probation for a felony case of writing bad checks. He was ordered to pay more than $13,700 in restitution and other fees at the rate of $280 a month, beginning last September.
Spending spree
When asked if Xtreme Hardscapes turned any kind of profit when Williams was running it, Turner said, "No, because any money that he brought in he spent on himself and his family."
As an example, Turner shared with 41 Action News a contract showing Williams bought a used SUV with a company paycheck for $17,500 without Turner's approval.
She says other unauthorized purchases by Williams using company money included:
- a washer and dryer
- a custom made pair of shoes for his child, costing several hundred dollars
- a $1500 purchase at a pet shop
- a gold necklace with "X" that Williams said he bought as advertising for the company
Turner said she routinely had the Williams family to her home for dinner, and their kids called her Grandma.
"I thought, okay, you know: They love me," Turner said.
No love or money
But Turner's December 2014 bank statement made her realize Williams just loved her money.
It shows that on December 1, Turner deposited $145,000 into the company account. A little over half of that money, $73,500, was spent with a lending company to pay off loans on company equipment. A note on the check says it was for "trailers, trucks, boat."
Turner said despite firing Williams in January, he still has company equipment: A Bobcat, three phones, a computer, and vehicles--including the SUV he bought out of company funds.
Turner said her bank statement shows Williams went on a wild spending spree that same month, even buying her earrings as a Christmas present--with company money.
By the time early January rolled around, the company's December bank statement shows the account went from a balance of just under $146,000 to being overdrawn.
"I'm not a cheater and I don't think anybody would cheat me. They do," said Turner.
New company, new name
After Turner fired Williams in January, he and his wife Sara went into business under a similar company name, Xtreme Concrete & Outdoor Living.
New complaint against Xtreme Concrete's Bob Williams. Our exclusive story tonight @41ActionNews at 6! pic.twitter.com/b1htQFmiP0
— Andy Alcock (@AndyAlcock2) November 20, 2015
As 41 Action News has previously reported, multiple customers have complained about Williams taking large deposits without doing or completing work.
Former co-workers have also claimed Williams didn't pay them. Those unanswered complaints have now earned Xtreme Concrete an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau of Greater Kansas City, due to the company's failure to respond to three BBB complaints against it.
From boss to bust
Meanwhile,Turner says she's financially strapped and is working at Home Depot to help make ends meet. She says Bob Williams is largely to blame for her predicament.
"I feel that he needs to serve some prison time because he's giving the children an awful, awful example of how to live," Turner said. "I don't know that he'll learn his lesson, but justice should be served somehow," she said.
Turner's attorney tells us he's attempting to recover his client's money and property from Williams, but the matter is unresolved.
Meanwhile, as we've previously reported, the Missouri Attorney General's Office is investigating Xtreme Concrete & Outdoor Living based on multiple complaints.
Calls to Williams' attorney for comment have not been returned.
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Andy Alcock can be reached at anderson.alcock@kshb.com.
