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Amid legal fight with city-parish, troubled Civil Service Board member arrested for contractor fraud

1 year 2 months 3 weeks ago Tuesday, September 19 2023 Sep 19, 2023 September 19, 2023 3:00 PM September 19, 2023 in News
Source: WBRZ

BATON ROUGE - The man at the head of a board that oversees discipline for Baton Rouge law enforcement was arrested again Tuesday on allegations of contractor fraud. 

Jail records show that Brandon Williams, 48, was booked into the parish jail Tuesday morning on counts of residential contractor fraud and misapplication of payments. 

An arrest warrant obtained by WBRZ shows he is accused of victimizing at least one person who hired him to build a nearly $723,000 home back in January 2022. At the time of the arrest report, Williams had allegedly been paid nearly nearly $600,000 in draw payments. 

The documents allege that while Williams himself is a licensed contractor, he employed subcontractors who were not licensed to perform the work he hired them for. The victim also claims he had to separately hire a licensed plumber and electrician to redo the shoddy work performed by Williams' company.

Investigators also noted he was previously fined for similar offenses.

Last year, the Baton Rouge Police Union campaigned to have Williams removed from the board, citing his previous run-ins with law enforcement. His past arrests include charges for theft over $25,000, burglary and contractor fraud. 

The WBRZ Investigative Unit has also learned that Williams is the focus of another ongoing legal dispute. Williams named the city of Baton Rouge in a lawsuit last year after members of the metro council questioned whether he can hold two spots in public office, citing his Civil Service Board appointment and his spot on the Louisiana Housing Corporation board. 

In April, a judge sided with Williams, ruling that he was not violating a state law that forbids holding multiple positions in public office. Parish attorneys filed an appeal this month looking to have that ruling overturned. 

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