A federal grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, returned an indictment that charges a Nebraska contractor with defrauding customers for failing to construct buildings after being paid.
Bobby Bates Sr. of Grand Island, Nebraska, is the owner of Built Rite Construction. According to the charges brought against him, Bates accepted deposits for construction projects between February and October 2023, but either did not begin work or never completed his projects. Bates allegedly defrauded customers in Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Nebraska, South Dakota, Illinois, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas, resulting in total losses of more than $700,000.
Bates is charged with two counts of wire fraud. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case.
