A Rush County warrant for theft and fraud has landed an owner of a local construction company in jail.

The Rush County Sheriff’s Office says Warren Stephen, owner and operator of W. Stephen Affordable Construction, was taken into custody for theft and home improvement fraud.  The charges stem from complaints of several individuals who claim Stephen received money to start jobs but failed to return to complete the contracted work.

The Rush County Sheriff’s office stated via press release that Stephen would ask for approximately half the money up front.  After receiving the money he would fail to return to the job site at all, or would do just a minimal portion of the work and then not return.  Stephen would then stop communicating with the victims.

Stephen has been advertising his business through Facebook and other social media platforms for construction jobs.