Feds accuse man of cheating Arkansas poultry farmers, investors

By Field Walsh TXK Today

TEXARKANA–A man who allegedly defrauded investors in a poultry house roof business out of hundreds of thousands while also pocketing thousands more from farm customers who never got what they paid for, is facing accusations of wire fraud in a Texarkana federal court.

Douglas “Doug” Mohler, who once lived in Hempstead County but was recently arrested in Minnesota, allegedly convinced investors to hand over hundreds of thousands with the promise of big returns for a share in a business that installed roof coatings on buildings like poultry houses that would reflect the sun and cool the interiors, according to an indictment unsealed last week in the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas.

Mohler allegedly took $100,000 from an investor in Lewisville, Ark., in 2018 but quit communicating with them after depositing their funds in his account, according to the indictment. Another investor thought they were going to see a more than doubling of their $300,000 investment in 2019, but Mohler allegedly quit communicating with them after gaining control of their funds.

Other investors from Buckner and Searcy, Ark., allegedly lost $2,500 and $10,000 in 2019 and 2020 to Mohler’s scheme, the indictment alleges.

The indictment further accuses Mohler of defrauding two farming customers in Hempstead County and Little River County, Ark., who paid him deposits for reflective roof coating jobs that were never performed. One customer allegedly paid Mohler nearly $10,000 while another paid him over $18,000, according to the indictment.

Court records show Mohler was arrested in Minnesota on Aug. 22 and released on a personal recognizance bond with instructions to report to federal pretrial services. Mohler is scheduled to appear for arraignment later this month on four counts of wire fraud at a hearing in Texarkana’s downtown federal building before U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant.