The Fine Art of Building Nothing

It's a unique type of entrepreneur who can build without creating anything, and Nevada, a land of opportunity, has sometimes provided the public with this extraordinary phenomenon.

According to the Lyon County Sheriff's Office, Joshua Quinton Carradine, 49, and Angela Bell Carradine, 61, were arrested Oct. 7 following a multi-year investigation into alleged theft and fraudulent business practices involving their former Silver Springs enterprise, AJ Home Center and AJ Construction. The investigation began in June 2023, after complaints involving home purchases, construction agreements, and financial transactions.

Authorities say the alleged activity stretched from April 2022 through February 2024, affecting victims in Nevada and California, with reported losses exceeding one million dollars. That is a substantial sum, enough to build several fine houses, provided one begins with the money and finishes with the houses.

Then came the fire.

Shortly after investigators began making inquiries in June 2023, the business location burned under circumstances authorities described as suspicious, destroying documents and records. Fire has always been an efficient servant of the people, warming his feet, cooking his dinner, and occasionally making paperwork unavailable at the least convenient moment.

But the law, unlike certain business records, proved difficult to reduce to ashes. Complaints continued arriving throughout 2024, investigators kept working, and the Carradines eventually left Nevada, with Tennessee believed to be their last known residence.

Nationwide arrest warrants were issued on Sept. 25. Together, they face 13 felony counts involving alleged thefts in several monetary categories, from $5,000 to sums exceeding $100,000.

Justice now has the blueprints, and the public awaits the building inspection.