Matthew Morris pleads not guilty to 84 charges in Ascension Parish
BATON ROUGE – A Livingston Parish grand jury has indicted a contractor on 51 counts of charges including contractor fraud after investigators say he scammed 11 victims after the flood.
The indictment in Livingston Parish comes two days after a grand jury in Ascension Parish indicted Matthew Morris on 84 counts of charges for 18 different victims. Morris was arraigned at an Ascension Parish courthouse Wednesday where he pleaded not guilty to those charges.
“This indictment is only the beginning,” District Attorney Scott Perrilloux said. “We will continue our commitment to the victims in these cases for recovery of their losses and appropriate justice for Mr. Morris.”
Morris, the owner of Complete Construction Contractors, LLC, was indicted on the following charges:
- 9 counts of residential contractor fraud $1,500 or more.
- 7 counts of misapplication of payment by contractor
- 11 counts of insurance fraud
- 11 counts of engaging in business of contracting without a license. Damages over $300
- 7 counts of filing or maintaining false public records
- 5 counts of extortion
- 1 count of theft of assets of an aged or disabled person
The 39-year-old was accused of charging his victims for services he either had not started or completed. Whenever a victim tried to terminate a contract, Morris would allegedly mail bills for thousands of dollars for "claim assistance" fees in addition to 50 percent of the total estimate of the job.
Multiple agencies, including Baton Rouge Police, Walker Police, Denham Springs Police and Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office had filed charges against Morris over the past several months.
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