Wyoming Couple Pleads Not Guilty to Bilking Neighbors

A Wyoming couple has pleaded not guilty to charges of bilking neighbors out of $12,000 under the guise of covering bills for doing flood prevention work along the Wind River last year.

The Riverton Ranger reports 38-year-old Jodi Sue Barquin and 40-year-old James Delmar Barquin are charged with obtaining property by false pretenses and conspiracy to do so. A phone number listed for them rang unanswered Sunday.

The two are free on a $1,500 cash bond.

Prosecutors say James Barquin had used heavy equipment from different companies to build berms around neighbors’ homes last year. They allege the couple asked neighbors for thousands of dollars to cover costs, even though the companies hadn’t billed the couple to use the equipment.