A Hill Country area builder was found guilty May 22 in Llano for allegedly bilking several property owners out of hundreds of thousands of dollars over a period of time.
Following the verdict at the Llano County Courthouse, Wayne Alan Erickson was sentenced to a year in a state jail facility with a 10-year deferred prison sentence.
The guilty verdict at the two-week trial involved a 12-person jury and later that day the sentencing agreement among attorneys.
Erickson of Erickson Custom Homes is a builder most recently based in Hays County.
“We wanted him to have some sort of accountability through a felony conviction that carries all the liabilities and restrictions that go along with that,” said Wiley “Sonny” McAfee, the special prosecutor in the trial. “They (victims) also didn’t want him doing it to anyone else.
“As the conditions of his probation, he can’t be an employee of his
“This guy didn’t just steal money. He stole their dreams.”
– Wiley ‘Sonny’ McAfee, Special Prosecutor family in the contracting business, and he can not be a contractor in any way,” he added. “And third, some jail time. One year was satisfactory to him as a lesson to let him know what he’d be in for if he messes up on his probation.
“My thought was to add restitution, and see if we could get some restitution from these families.”
The total amount of restitution will range from $300,000 to $500,000, pending the outcome of a hearing.
The defendants indictments stemmed from incidents which occurred from 2013 to 2021 with two sets of victims from Llano County and four from Travis County. Retired Judge Daryl Coffey of Tarrant County presided over the trial.
McAfee, appointed by 33rd/424th Judicial District Attorney Perry Thomas, tried the case with the assistance of Llano County Attorney Matt Rienstra. McAfee served as the local DA prior to Thomas.
“We appreciate the jury holding Mr. Erickson accountable for his actions,” Thomas said. “It just goes to show we have a commitment to victims of fraud.
“It involved large amounts of money defrauding homeowners, people trying to build homes,” Thomas added. “Because of the large amount of money and people involved, it’s a huge verdict.”
The punishment phase involved impact statements from the victims.
“It’s so important because of the problem we have with contractors. He stole tremendous amounts of money,” McAfee said. “There was the side effect of the emotional stress, taking away the resources they needed for family, children’s schooling.
“This guy didn’t just steal money. He stole their dreams.”
After the guilty verdict, the defense moved to “sever” a number of other counts involving first degree felony misapplication of fiduciary/ financial property and three of four state jail felony charges of securing the execution of documents through deception.
The prosecution focused on “count 1”, which was a first degree felony charge of theft of property (greater than $300,000).
The punishment agreement also took into account a state jail felony charge of securing the execution of a document through deception which involved a $10,000 check.
“Normally, I would ask for as much prison time as possible on this because he was a thief. Some of these families have been at it for 12 years,” McAfee said. “He hurt so many people financially, emotionally.”
Erickson, who is now a convicted felon, waived his right to an appeal and will serve his probation while paying back the money over the 10-year period. He was given two weeks to get his “affairs in order” before being transported to the state jail facility.
“It has been going on for several years now, and some of the folks that have been with us for many years said they’d like for this to be final where he doesn’t have the right to an appeal,” McAfee said.
Erickson’s trial began May 12 with jury selection at the Llano County Courthouse, followed by opening statements and the first witness on May 13. Closing arguments were underway by May 21.
Thomas said, “We appreciate Sonny McAfee continuing to assist this office and the extremely hard work in trying this case.”
McAfee added, “The jury was very thoughtful and deliberative. They spent a lot of time going over different exhibits and evidence. Matt and I both thought they did a great job.”
