A Tulsa-area contractor faces 17 counts of felony embezzlement and one count of engaging in a pattern of criminal offenses, according to a press release from the office of Attorney General Gentner Drummond.
Following an investigation by Drummons’s Consumer Protection Unit, charges were filed in Creek County on August 12th against Todd Douglas Briggs, who, according to the statement, operated T Biggs Construction and Oasis Pools and Outdoor Living. He is accused of taking more than $1.2 million from 17 customers for home or pool construction that he never completed or for which he never paid subcontractors.
“I am committed to holding accountable anyone who engages in deceitful business practices to take advantage of hardworking Oklahomans,” Drummond said. “I appreciate the work of the attorneys, investigators and staff in the Consumer Protection Unit as we pursue justice for the families who were exploited.”
According to court records, the first count of embezzlement against Briggs was for a customer who had hired his crew to build a home in Sapulpa. According to the probable cause affidavit, Briggs was paid over $83,500.00 in a 6-month period by them before he announced to his customers that he was closing the company and filing for bankruptcy. When the customer brought in another firm to finish the construction, they surmised that of the work for which they had paid more than $83,500.00, only $14,500.00 of it had been completed.
Sixteen other counts are listed in the affidavit, all with a similar situation, most resulting in unfinished work and liens placed against the properties by unpaid subcontractors.
Briggs informed customers in July 2023 that he was filing for bankruptcy, only days after receiving substantial payments from several of them. Many were left with unfinished projects and had liens placed against their homes by unpaid subcontractors.
Consumers in Tulsa, Jenks, Broken Arrow, Owasso, Collinsville, Sapulpa, Bixby and Beggs were impacted.
Drummond encourages anyone who believes they may have been a victim of contractor fraud to contact the Consumer Protection Unit at 1-833-681-1895 or Oklahoma.gov/oag.
