another scam artist

OFF THE WIRE

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/20110614/NEWS01/110614038/NORTHAMPTON-Contractor-bilked-homeowners-group-bought-Harley-officials-say?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CEastern%20Shore%20News%7Cs

NORTHAMPTON: Contractor bilked homeowners' group, bought Harley, officials say

JAMESVILLE — A North Carolina contractor who accepted money to build a bulkhead at a waterfront community here but bought a Harley-Davidson motorcycle and other items instead of finishing the work has pleaded guilty.
Clark Leslie Bowman, 50, of Hertford, N.C., pleaded guilty to two counts of obtaining money by false pretenses. He remains free on bond but will be sentenced later this year after a presentence report is ordered.
Bowman was given $115,000 by the Peaceful Ponds homeowners association but the bulkhead work was never performed, said Northampton County Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Beverly Leatherbury.
Bowman represented himself as the Eastern Shore division of a company called Target Group. In September 2005, he went to association members and asked for a check for $92,000 for materials, whose price he said was soon to go up.
They gave him the check which was deposited in his personal account. By November, the association had obtained all the permits necessary for Bowman to begin the job.
By then, he had spent all the money, Leatherbury said.
She told the court that he spent $30,000 on a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Other purchases were made at the Lynnhaven Dive Center in Virginia Beach.
Bowman went to the association members and asked for another $23,000. He was given another check and spent it all almost immediately at a Circuit City store in Virginia Beach, said Leatherbury.
He did a bit of demolition on the property, working about ten days, she said, but kept coming up with excuses for his not being on the job.
By June 2006, when “not much had happened,” the association called authorities.