Alleged fencing scammer arrested on theft charges

BY NICK YAMASHITA

Moapa Valley Progress

The Hurricane Utah Police Department has arrested a business owner who has allegedly scammed multiple homeowners throughout the region of southern Utah and southern Nevada. On Friday, April 3, handyman and business owner Berklee Holm, 67, of Parowan, Utah was arrested in Hurricane after an investigation concerning the theft of $21,000.

Terri Dodd of Overton, and Mike Fagnon of Beaver Dam/Littlefield, AZ were pleased to hear the news last week. They both claim to have fallen victim to Holm’s bad business tactics. Both allege that they were taken for more than $3,000 each last year when Holm contracted to build fences on their properties, took a hefty deposit for the projects and then never completed them.

Holm has been linked to multiple complaints regarding his fencing company services and handyman jobs. His business, Valley Fence and Design, based out of Cedar City, Utah has been at the forefront of several law enforcement investigations including Hurricane Police Department, Mohave County Sheriff’s Department and the Moapa Valley substation of Metropolitan Police Department.

Holm was arrested on Friday morning at 11:45 am and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility for 2nd Degree Felony Charge of Theft – Lost or Mislaid Property and for a warrant that had been issued out of Beaver Justice Court for failure to show during an investigation.

According to a Hurricane police statement, Holm had allegedly been given a check by the victim on March 13 for a concrete job in her yard. The check had reportedly been written by the victim in error, though. The agreed upon amount for services had been $4200 with a down payment due of $2100 for materials and supplies. The customer had apparently mistakenly added an extra zero making the check $21,000.

The statement said that Holm admitted taking the check to the bank, realized the error, but deposited it anyway.

The victim attempted multiple times to contact Holm in attempts to get the “error” resolved butwan unable to reach him, the statement said.

The arrest may open the door for further legal actions on behalf of the local residents who have fallen victim to Holm’s alleged practices.

“This will help our investigation,” said Metro Officer Mark Harding who had been leading an investigation into local complaints against Holm. “Currently it is in screening and a warrant most likely will be issued shortly. This may speed things up for our investigation.”
“This has been a long time coming,” stated Mike Fagnon. “I am so glad they finally caught him. Justice can now be served.”

Dodd expressed similar feelings. “I am hoping everything he has done to people comes into the spotlight now and so he never does this to anyone else ever again,” she said. “This news has made my day.”