Charges stack up against homebuilder
SANDPOINT — Criminal charges are piling up against a Sagle contractor who is accused of stealing construction funds from three homeowners in Bonner County.
Nathanial "Nate" David Story of Story Homes LLC is charged with 10 counts of grand theft and three counts of forgery in one case and five counts of grand theft in another.
Preliminary hearings in both cases are set for today in Bonner County Magistrate Court.
Story, 37, was originally charged with a single count of grand theft in connection with the construction of a home near Edgemere. He was accused of drawing $21,121 building materials that were never supplied and work that was partially completed.
Bonner County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Daniel Rodriquez filed an amended complaint last month alleging that Story made a total of $71,389 bogus draws for a host of building materials, appliances, masonry work and other items between 2018 and 2020. Story is further charged with forging lien waivers from three subcontractors and submitting them to a bank.
Meanwhile, another criminal case emerged in which Story is accused of making five bogus draws from a cash account totaling $121,490 for the demolition of a Sagle home in 2020, according to court documents. The partially demolished house was rendered uninhabitable, a probable cause affidavit said.
The only other work that had been done at the Sagle homesite were footings for an accessory dwelling unit, the affidavit said.
In an audio recording, Story said he deposited those funds into a longtime subcontractor's account, but an extensive review of the man's financial records showed no such deposits, according to court documents.
Story was arrested in Nez Perce County on a $50,000 warrant from Bonner County in November. He has since posted a surety bond in that amount to secure his liberty while the cased are pending, court records show.
Grand theft and forgery are punishable by up to 14 years in prison, according to Idaho Code.
Keith Kinnaird can be reached at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com or followed on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.