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SPRINGVILLE — The owner of a Utah County landscaping company is facing criminal charges accusing him of taking more than $1 million in deposits from dozens of customers, but never completing, or in many cases, even starting the promised work — and never returning the money.
Brandon Glenn Tipton, 45, of Mapleton, was charged May 17 in 4th District Court with engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity and 24 counts of theft, second-degree felonies.
Tipton was the owner of Tipton Landscaping in Springville. The Utah Division of Professional Licensing revoked the contractor license in November. According to a search of business records, Tipton Landscaping, Inc. is no longer in business.
Charging documents state between May 2022 and August 2023, Tipton "agreed to complete work for multiple" clients and "required and received large deposits" and "cashed the checks, but then either performed small amounts of work or no work at all." The deposits for those people were not returned, the charges state.
The Utah County Attorney's Bureau of Investigations division said it identified nearly 30 victims "scattered throughout Utah County" during an initial investigation.
"I learned Mr. Tipton would come to the victims' homes and provide a landscaping bid. If the victim agreed with the bid, Tipton would require 50% down to begin the work. Once the victims had provided Mr. Tipton with the 50% down, he would never return to complete the work," an investigator with the Utah County Attorney's Office wrote in a search warrant affidavit. "I met with 21 of Mr. Tipton's victims. I learned between March of 2022 and October of 2023 the amount Mr. Tipton had taken from them collectively was approximately $1.7 million."
The money victims paid upfront ranged from $12,000 to $125,000 "with 0% work completed," the affidavit states.
Most of the victims filed reports with their local police departments and the Utah County Attorney's Office began its investigation in October.
An investigator met with Tipton in December 2023.
"I specifically asked Mr. Tipton about the percentage of work he completed in relation to those who had filed complaints. He advised me he would need to go back and check his records to see what was completed and what was not completed," according to the affidavit. "I told Mr. Tipton the problem appeared to be with people that had given him a large amount of money with no work done. ... He said that he thought he could 'dig out of this the whole time we were actually working.'"
When asked specifically about what happened to one client's deposit, "he never answered the question as to where the money went," according to the affidavit.
When asked why he continued to take money from clients knowing his business was failing, Tipton allegedly replied, "We knew it was hard, but we felt like we would be able to dig out of things," court records state.
Charging documents identify alleged victims of Tipton in Vineyard, American Fork, Santaquin, Lehi, Highland, Mapleton, Salem, Pleasant Grove, Draper, Saratoga Springs, Eagle Mountain, Lindon and Springville.
