Bartlesville Radio: The area’s best source for news, weather and sports!

Attorney General John O'Connor announced this week that he is filing embezzlement charges against a McIntosh County couple who ran a construction scheme that defrauded Oklahomans in several counties of thousands of dollars.

Victor and Julie Dowling of V&J Steel Buildings LLC are facing 14 counts of embezzlement and one count of Pattern of Criminal Offenses. If convicted, each will face up to 72 years in prison and must pay back over $100,00 in restitution to their victims. The Dowlings have been under investigation since November 2020 after a customer complained to the Attorney General's office.

Evidence in the case indicates that V&J Steel Buildings LLC worked a broad-based campaign in the entire state of Oklahoma so the Attorney General's investigators believe there may be other victims from any of the 77 counties in the state who were victims of the fraud but have not yet come forward. Attorney General O'Connor issued a plea for anyone who has worked with or even considered working with the couple and their company to contact his office so more evidence can be added to the court case already in existence.

If you were victimized by V&J Steel LLC or if you engaged with them in a potential sale (even if you did not follow through), please contact the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Office at 1-833-681-1895.

For tips on how to avoid contractor fraud, visit https://oag.ok.gov/consumer-protection-unit.