WHITESTOWN, Ind. -- Two home builders have been charged with stealing more than $1.2 million from customers and subcontractors.
Gary Ogle, 69 and Robert Fersch, 68, owned BiltRite Homes of Whitestown. Indiana State Police say the two men have been charged with felonies in four counties, with court documents showing they engaged in several fraudulent business deals.
BiltRite filed for bankruptcy in 2013, and ISP says that’s when officers began looking into complaints. Most of them involved taking money from customers to pay off debts from homes that had previously been built. Eventually, police say Ogle and Fersch were not able to pay their debts, which led to liens being placed on several completed homes.
In some cases, police say BiltRite Homes would take down payments or a first draw on victims' construction loans, and not take any action toward building a home for them. Prosecutors in Hendricks, Marion, Boone and Hamilton County have all filed charges, and police say another 11 victims in Boone County and 1 victim in Clinton County who are pursuing criminal charges at this time.
Ogle had previously been charged in February 2015 for his actions during new home builds for those who lost their homes to the Richmond Hill explosion.
