By Bryan Corliss
Herald Writer
A 29-year-old Arlington resident has been arrested in an investigation of theft after complaints that his company defrauded people seeking construction jobs.
Mallard Construction owner Robert Miller told The Herald that he was a legitimate businessman trying to line up a pool of skilled builders to work on construction projects for the U.S. Navy and other public agencies.
But Snohomish County sheriff’s detectives say the company took $45 from each would-be applicant to cover the costs of drug tests, then promised to call back later to set up appointments. The calls never came.
After a number of people called the sheriff’s office to complain, deputies began investigating, and they made the arrest on Friday. Miller was being held on $65,000 bail at Snohomish County Jail.
Classified advertisements placed in The Herald by Miller in mid-January promised three years of guaranteed construction work for up to 350 people. Wages were promised at $26 to $47 an hour.
People who called to apply were told to come to a series of meetings held at different restaurants in and around Arlington. At the meetings, they said, they were told that they would be working on jobs at Puget Sound area Navy bases.
They were asked to fill out job applications, give their Social Security numbers and hand over the $45 fee in cash. People with experience in more than one building trade were required to complete two applications and pay twice, according to the sheriff’s office.
Some of the people who attended the meetings said they were suspicious of the arrangement. Meetings at restaurants are unusual, and typically it’s the company that pays the cost of pre-employment drug tests, not the worker.
But others said they went ahead and applied, tempted by the prospect of three years of steady work at good pay.
Miller at one time was a licensed building contractor, and operated Mallard Construction in Hoquiam. But the state’s Department of Labor and Industries revoked the license in September 2001 after three unhappy customers placed claims totaling $13,000 against his $6,000 contractor’s bond, state officials said.
Detectives ask that anyone who applied for jobs with Mallard Construction and paid the $45 to contact them at the department’s tip line at 425-388-3845.
You can call Herald Writer Bryan Corliss at 425-339-3454 or send e-mail to corliss@heraldnet.com.
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