GR businessman accused of theft, fraud

A Green River businessman accused of theft and trying to obtain property by false pretenses pleaded not guilty to the two felony charges.

On Monday Jeffrey T. Wharton appeared in the Third District Court of Judge Nena James at an arraignment to felony charges of theft and obtaining property by false pretenses. If found guilty of both charges, Wharton could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum  fine of $20,000. A jury trial has been scheduled to take place in August.

According to court documents, on June 27, 2014, a Green River Police officer took a statement from Steve Tatum regarding a Jeep that Wharton was in possession of. Wharton is the owner and operator of Transmission and Engine Repair, which is located at 410 E. Flaming Gorge Way.

Tatum told the officer he asked Wharton to do some mechanical repairs and improvements on his 1992 Jeep Wrangler, which Tatum claimed Wharton agree to. The Jeep was valued at $6,000; and the work on it should have been completed by April 16, 2014, however, as of June 27, 2014, the work had not been done.

A GRPD detective conducted a follow-up interview with Tatum, who said in March Wharton showed up at his business, Excaval, in late March of 2014, asking about some parts washers he saw outside of the Excaval building. Wharton asked if they were sale; and when he found out they were not the subject changed to jeeps. Wharton told Tatum he had a shop in town and offered to perform work on his Jeep. Tatum said he wanted to have locking differentials put on his Jeep; and wanted it done by a professional. Wharton agreed to do it. Tatum said he then told Wharton he needed the vehicle finished by the first few weeks in April of 2014 because he had some jeep trail rides and shows he wanted to take the vehicle to. Wharton told Tatum he could get the job done quickly because his shop works on Jeeps on a regular basis.

On April 10, 2014, Wharton showed up at Tatum’s home to discuss the process of upgrading the Jeep. Wharton provided Tatum with a rough estimate and told Tatum he needed money upfront so he can order the parts. Tatum gave Wharton $1,500 cash so he could begin ordering parts. Tatum told Wharton that he would provide a his credit card information to order the rest of the parts; and he would pay the remaining balance after the Jeep was completed. 

On April 11, 2014, Tatum met with Wharton at Wharton’s shop; and Wharton provided Tatum with an itemized receipt/contract. A $1,500 cash deposit from April 10, 2014, was on it and the contract showed a total cost for the Jeep’s upgrade to be $5,762.53, with a remaining balance of $4,262.53 to be paid on April 16, 2014. On the contract Tatum signed, is an agreement that states Tatum will pay storage fees of $25 per day “beginning one week after completion.”

On April 16, 2014, Tatum stopped by Wharton’s shop to check on his vehicle because it was supposed to be done by this date. Tatum saw his Jeep on a vehicle lift and noticed the Jeep’s drivetrain was partially torn apart. Tatum spoke to the mechanic working on the Jeep and was told that the parts for the Jeep hadn’t been ordered yet. Tatum spoke with Wharton; who told him he was having a difficult time finding parts for the Jeep. Tatum offered to find and the parts online.

Between April 16 and April 30 of 2014, Tatum called Wharton to find out about his Jeep. Once again, Wharton told Tatum he was having trouble finding the parts. Tatum offered to find the parts online and provide that information to Wharton. Wharton got mad at Tatum and told him he needed more money so he could get the job moving.

On April 30, 2014, Tatum visited Wharton’s shop again. He spoke with the mechanic who told him the parts had still not arrived. Tatum was reassured that the parts would arrive soon; and he provided $2,000 cash to Wharton’s secretary, Alice Linson.

Tatum continued to visit Wharton’s shop and Wharton would advise him that he was still trying to get parts. Tatum looked up the needed parts online and made copies of the places in the country that had the parts.

Tatum showed Wharton the copies and asked him to order the parts from one of these companies and finish the job. Tatum told Wharton he would be happy to order the parts for him, but would not pay the additional $3,500 originally agreed upon for the parts. Wharton told Tatum the money he had given him had already been used to absorb storage fees for Tatum’s Jeep being in the shop. The money was not used for anything to do with parts.

From April 30 to June 2, 2014, Tatum visited Wharton weekly. Wharton continued to tell Tatum the parts were on backorder.

During the last week of May, Tatum demanded Wharton provide him with a refund for the money he had already paid. On June 2, 2014, Tatum visited the shop again and Wharton provided him with a bill for $304.17. Wharton told Tatum that the cash he gave him had been “eaten up with storage fees.” Wharton then told Tatum if he paid the $304.17, he would tow the Jeep anywhere he wanted it to go and would charge he a tow fee. Tatum told Wharton he was not paying him anything.

On July 7, 2014, Tatum received a bill from Green River Transmission dated July 1, 2014. The amount was for $1,046.17. A balance of $304.17 plus and additional $700 for 22 days of outside storage was on it; and $42 in sales tax.

In August of 2014, Tatum received a both bill for a balance of $2,113.44. The previous balance of $1,046.17 plus interest and storage and administrative fees were also on the bill. In September of 2014, Tatum allegedly received a finalized bill and a notice of sale document advising him that if the bill was not paid in full by Oct. 22, 2014, the Jeep would be taken to an auction and sold.

Tatum told the officer he had provided Wharton with his credit card to pay part of this bill or order parts, but Wharton told him he didn’t want to use a credit card because then he would have to pay a processing fee. Tatum offered a business check, but Wharton also refused that and told Tatum he only wanted cash.

On July 24, 2014, a police officer drove to Wharton’s shop to find Tatum’s Jeep, which was sitting in the back driveway area of Wharton’s shop. The detective noticed that someone had removed the drivelines.

On Oct. 1, 2014, a detective stopped by Wharton’s shop and spoke with him about Tatum and his Jeep. The detective noticed Wharton seemed surprised by his questions and was taking a long time answering each question asked.

The detective asked Wharton why the work had not been completed on Tatum’s Jeep. Wharton said Tatum could not come up with the money by April 16, 2014, so he could start the work. Wharton denied that the vehicle was supposed to by done by April 16, 2014.

Wharton became agitated with the detective and tried to change the subject several times. Wharton then told the officer that Tatum continued to change his mind on a regular basis; and the contract changed four times throughout his working on the Jeep.

The detective then asked Wharton why he accepted the $2,000 from Tatum if he was having so many problems. Wharton said it was his secretary who took the money, not him. Wharton told the officer the cash was applied toward storage fees.

Wharton was then asked about the storage fees he was charging. He recited a portion of the business receipts that state “A 1.5 percent monthly interest charge, plus a $25 per day storage charge will be applied to all jobs, beginning one week after completion.”

The detective then asked Wharton why he was charged Tatum fees when the job was not done.

To which, Wharton responded, “It was completed in our mind; he just never repaid the money.”

The detective asked to see the contracts. Wharton produced two, which were both dated for the same day and time. The first was for $7,350.01; and the second for $5,762.53; the second was singed by Tatum and showed the balance was to be paid April 16, 2014, when the contract is done. One of the contracts showed that Tatum was going to pay the balance with a Visa.

Wharton then told the officer that Tatum wanted Pacific brand parts, Pacific is a company that makes differential locking devices. Wharton said he talked to a company in California and the company told him if he paid all of it right away he could get a discounted price, which he relayed to Tatum. He said that is why the second contract made it for less because it shows the discount.

Wharton said he told Tatum if he paid cash by April 16, 2014, he would be charged $5,762.53 instead of $7,350. Wharton claims he never received any more cash from Tatum.

The detective asked Wharton if he could produce the California company’s quote. After digging through files for a few minutes, Wharton stated he couldn’t find it; and said he didn’t have an account set up for that company. Wharton then made a call to the company to have them fax a copy of the work order, but when the work order came through the fax, Wharton said it was not what he was looking for.

The detective then asked Wharton how much money he had received from Tatum. Wharton said he received $1,500 in cash on April 11, 2014, and $2,000 in cash on April 30, 2014. Wharton immediately told the officer that Tatum “still didn’t meet the time restraints that we had put on the agreement.” Wharton denied that Tatum had given him credit card information for him to use.

Wharton told the officer he rarely saw Tatum after the Jeep was dropped off. Wharton also denied that Tatum stopped by his shop to check on the Jeep; and stated that Tatum abandoned the Jeep at his shop and refused to pay the remaining balance so the parts could be ordered to complete the work. Wharton said after several months of storing the Jeep, he began the process of filing for a Sheriff’s title on the Jeep so he could auction the vehicle off to pay for the remaining storage fees.

Wharton completed the notice of sale on Sept. 22, 2014.

Wharton claimed that Tatum had gone to far when he contacted the Better Business Bureau; and placed all the blame on Tatum; however he allegedly admitted to never ordering the parts for the Jeep.

The detective noticed the work to the Jeep was still not completed as of Oct. 1, 2014, and was parked outside of the business.

The Jeep was taken into evidence at that time. Tatum has not received the $3,500 back from Wharton for the Jeep’s parts.