Sioux City Journal, IA
07-14-06
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A construction business owner from Ames has been
charged with theft and ongoing criminal conduct for allegedly billing Iowa State
University for thousands of hours of work that was never done, state officials
said.
Thomas M. Hinders Jr., 48, was charged Thursday in Story County District Court
with three counts of first-degree theft and one count of ongoing criminal conduct,
according to court records.
The Iowa attorney general's office says the charges stem from theft by deception
of property during a period lasting from 2003-2005, and that a state auditor's
report released last month is related to the case.
In the report, State Auditor Dave Vaudt said billings for various construction
projects between Feb. 3, 2003, and Aug. 31, 2005, by Ames-based Hinders and
Associates included $403,000 in charges for 15,702 hours of work that wasn't
done.
Vaudt said the audit identified another 1,104 excess labor hours billed to Iowa
State between Sept. 1, 2005, and Dec. 7, 2005, which resulted in the university
being billed an additional $28,535. Those bills haven't been paid.
The attorney general's office would not say specifically what in the auditor's
report led to the charges.
"I'm very glad to see that we've provided them with enough information so that
they could proceed forward with action," Vaudt said Thursday.
ISU's legal counsel, Paul Tanaka, said when ISU stopped payment after
discovering it had overpaid Hinders, he filed a civil lawsuit against the university.
The university filed a response seeking "full recovery of the amount overpaid,"
Tanaka said.
"The university trusts that the court processes will lead to just conclusions in both
the legal actions under way," he said.
Ames attorney William Talbot, who is representing Hinders, said his client sued
ISU in February for $150,000. The university's response was based on the same
facts and circumstances under the criminal act.
Talbot said the case is a contract dispute that should be dealt with in civil court.
"It's unfortunate that this is in the criminal system at all," he said.
ISU officials have said the company was hired to do a series of renovation and
repair projects for which it billed the college on an hourly basis.
Vaudt said in the report that the company also billed the university at the highest
labor rate allowed by the agreement and that "it was not reasonable for every
employee to be billed at the highest hourly rate allowed by the contracts."
He said because documents didn't detail who was working on all the projects
"additional amounts over-billed to ISU could not be determined."
Vaudt recommended in the report that college purchasing officials conduct tighter
reviews of invoices submitted by contractors, and double-check the wage level
for which the school is being charged. The report also suggested multiple
reviews of those invoices to act as an additional check.
The attorney general's office said an arrest warrant for Hinders was issued by
Story County District Judge Carl Baker, but that Hinders would be allowed to turn
himself in to authorities no later than 3 p.m. Friday.
Bond was set at $30,000 and Hinders was scheduled to be arraigned on July 31.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- A construction business owner from Ames has been
charged with theft and ongoing criminal conduct for allegedly billing Iowa State
University for thousands of hours of work that was never done, state officials
said.
Thomas M. Hinders Jr., 48, was charged Thursday in Story County District Court
with three counts of first-degree theft and one count of ongoing criminal conduct,
according to court records.
The Iowa attorney general's office says the charges stem from theft by deception
of property during a period lasting from 2003-2005, and that a state auditor's
report released last month is related to the case.
In the report, State Auditor Dave Vaudt said billings for various construction
projects between Feb. 3, 2003, and Aug. 31, 2005, by Ames-based Hinders and
Associates included $403,000 in charges for 15,702 hours of work that wasn't
done.
Vaudt said the audit identified another 1,104 excess labor hours billed to Iowa
State between Sept. 1, 2005, and Dec. 7, 2005, which resulted in the university
being billed an additional $28,535. Those bills haven't been paid.
The attorney general's office would not say specifically what in the auditor's
report led to the charges.
"I'm very glad to see that we've provided them with enough information so that
they could proceed forward with action," Vaudt said Thursday.
ISU's legal counsel, Paul Tanaka, said when ISU stopped payment after
discovering it had overpaid Hinders, he filed a civil lawsuit against the university.
The university filed a response seeking "full recovery of the amount overpaid,"
Tanaka said.
"The university trusts that the court processes will lead to just conclusions in both
the legal actions under way," he said.
Ames attorney William Talbot, who is representing Hinders, said his client sued
ISU in February for $150,000. The university's response was based on the same
facts and circumstances under the criminal act.
Talbot said the case is a contract dispute that should be dealt with in civil court.
"It's unfortunate that this is in the criminal system at all," he said.
ISU officials have said the company was hired to do a series of renovation and
repair projects for which it billed the college on an hourly basis.
Vaudt said in the report that the company also billed the university at the highest
labor rate allowed by the agreement and that "it was not reasonable for every
employee to be billed at the highest hourly rate allowed by the contracts."
He said because documents didn't detail who was working on all the projects
"additional amounts over-billed to ISU could not be determined."
Vaudt recommended in the report that college purchasing officials conduct tighter
reviews of invoices submitted by contractors, and double-check the wage level
for which the school is being charged. The report also suggested multiple
reviews of those invoices to act as an additional check.
The attorney general's office said an arrest warrant for Hinders was issued by
Story County District Judge Carl Baker, but that Hinders would be allowed to turn
himself in to authorities no later than 3 p.m. Friday.
Bond was set at $30,000 and Hinders was scheduled to be arraigned on July 31.