A Denver construction company claims that an internal audit has uncovered \u201ca deliberate, calculated scheme of fraud, theft and deception\u201d by a former senior project executive.<\/p>\n
Frontline Construction alleges that Joe Larsen used \u201ccounterfeit documentation, concealment of personal transactions and the misuse of Frontline\u2019s corporate credit card\u201d to rob it of $167,000. The fraud began during Larsen\u2019s fourth day on the job, according to the company.<\/p>\n
Frontline is asking Denver District Judge Mark Bailey to bar Larsen from selling guns and ammo he allegedly bought with ill-gotten gains as its lawsuit against him plays out.<\/p>\n
Larsen, who now lives in Wisconsin, did not answer BusinessDen\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n
Headquartered in south Denver, Frontline is known for build-outs and ground-up construction of restaurants. It recently completed the Pigtrain Coffee space in Union Station and HashTAG\u2019s latest location, and started work on Prost Brewing\u2019s new biergarten in Wheat Ridge.<\/p>\n
The company hired Larsen, who was previously a project manager at several other construction firms outside Colorado, on Jan. 18, 2024. Four days later, he used falsified and outdated receipts to steal thousands of dollars in fake travel reimbursements, Frontline alleges.<\/p>\n
Filed Oct. 10, the construction company\u2019s 27-page lawsuit is meticulously detailed, listing the 118 times between January 2024 and September 2025 that Larsen allegedly exploited his employer\u2019s reimbursement system and company credit cards to take $167,000.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrontline\u2019s initial internal audit and investigation \u2014 completed in August and September 2025 \u2014 confirmed that Larsen\u2019s fraudulent activity was deliberate, organized and extended across multiple expense categories,\u201d claims the company, which is said to still be investigating.<\/p>\n
Guns appear often in the lawsuit. An invoice for electrical materials at a Texas Roadhouse actually bought a tactical shotgun and shells, and $3,100 for concrete at an Alabama job site went to a firearms dealer near Larsen\u2019s home in Wisconsin, according to Frontline. A $3,200 expense for cleanup at a Texas project allegedly bought a semi-automatic rifle instead.<\/p>\n