MAUD, Texas - A forestry investment company claims a Maud, Texas, couple accused of more than $4 million in fraud is violating a court order to preserve assets by selling precious metals and coins and by spending money on pool supplies, patio furniture and essential oils.
Georgia-based Forest Investment Associates allege in a civil suit filed in May that April Thompson and James Thompson conspired over an eight-year period to defraud the company of more than $4 million through phony invoices generated at a local timber management company where April Thompson once worked.
The suit accuses the Thompsons of submitting fraudulent invoices for forestry work James Thompson never performed.
The Thompsons have denied all the allegations and filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
An amended complaint accuses the couple of funneling more than $600,000 into their businesses, James Thompson Trucking and James Thompson Racing and adds the businesses as defendants. FIA has from the beginning sought the court's help in insuring that the assets the Thompsons currently hold are not hidden, liquidated or transferred.
Last month, amid allegations that the Thompsons are violating a restraining order regarding their assets and spending, the two sides agreed to the appointment of a receiver to oversee the couple's finances. But a motion for contempt and sanctions filed Monday alleges the couple is spending recklessly, selling assets and failing to disclose financial information.
The motion alleges that the Thompsons' violations began within days of court approval of a temporary restraining order in May. The couple allegedly spent money while on a Hawaiian vacation, which did not fit into the definition of necessary personal expenses.
James Thompson is accused of violating the court's order in June when he sold a mower for more than $12,000 and allegedly pocketed cash from the sale.
The motion accuses the couple of selling more than $21,252 worth of silver bullion and collectible coins June 21 and July 31 to East Texas Coin and Bullion in violation of court orders and of failing to disclose the transaction as required.
An affidavit attached to the motion and signed by the manager of East Texas Coin and Bullion states that James Thompson never disclosed that he was restrained from selling the assets.
The couple is accused of spending approximately $8,585 between May 24 and June 14 on non-essential purchases including nearly $200 on essential oils, approximately $225 at PetSmart, $6,934.04 at Lowe's on patio furniture and a mower, $321.13 at Fun Pools and Spas and $916.53 on catalog items via Paypal.
"Not only did defendants misappropriate the monies of FIA and its clients from 2011 until 2019; now, the individual defendants continue to squander whatever monies and assets may be left by continuing their spending spree," the contempt motion states.
"Additionally, this sanction is appropriate because, if the individual defendants are held in contempt, they may likely obey this court's order. Finally, holding the individual defendants in contempt is appropriate because the individual Defendants' violations of the TRO have been willful and in bad faith."
The contempt motion asks the court to order the Thompsons "to immediately pay into the registry of the court the total amount of assets the individual defendants have wrongfully sold, transferred or dissipated, to immediately pay an appropriate fine to punish these acts of contempt, and to award plaintiff all attorneys' fees and expenses incurred in connection with this motion."
The case is currently pending before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas. A hearing to address the plaintiff's motion for contempt hasn't been set.
FIA is represented by Texarkana lawyer Geoff Culbertson and Georgia lawyers Giselle Guerra and Lawrence Polk. The Thompsons and their businesses are represented by Texarkana lawyers Sean Rommell and Darren Anderson.