A Senoia contractor is at the center of a growing construction scandal in Coweta County after a grand jury indicted Nathan Gividen on Monday on five felony counts. Investigators say at least 30 homeowners have now come forward, reporting unfinished projects and money that vanished with the work left undone. The new cases represent more than $150,000 in alleged losses, including an unfinished detached‑garage project for which one couple paid roughly $17,100 upfront. Gividen remains in the Coweta County Jail while detectives keep taking statements and sending some complaints to other jurisdictions when they fall outside Senoia’s reach.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Senoia police said a Coweta County grand jury handed up the latest theft‑by‑conversion indictments after a surge of calls that followed earlier TV coverage. The five new counts stem from complaints by multiple homeowners, and investigators are now coordinating with other local agencies where those homeowners live. FOX 5 Atlanta reported that these expanded charges follow the original case, which first surfaced in August 2025.
Earlier, WSB‑TV detailed the complaint that kicked everything off. In that case, investigators say a homeowner gave Gividen a $17,100 deposit in April 2024 for a detached garage that never materialized. As reported by WSB‑TV, city records show Gividen’s contractor license had been expired for years and his business registration had already been dissolved before he took the job.
What victims allege
Homeowners who contacted police described a familiar and frustrating pattern, according to investigators. They say Gividen collected large upfront payments, did little or substandard work, then asked for more money before work stalled out completely. “He even approached a handful of my victims requesting personal loans,” Senoia Police Cpt. Jason Ercole told The Citizen, which gathered dozens of consumer complaints during the earlier stage of the investigation.
Bankruptcy filing suggests earlier trouble
Public bankruptcy records indicate the financial troubles were not new. Filings show Gividen sought Chapter 7 protection on July 30, 2024, listing construction‑related claims and creditors tied to jobs done under his Southern Oaks Construction name. Those filings appear in public records compiled by CaseMine and were cited in earlier reporting on the case.
Charges, custody and possible penalties
Authorities say Gividen is being held in the Coweta County Jail. The indictments accuse him of theft by conversion, a crime that becomes a felony when alleged losses clear certain dollar thresholds and that can bring steeper prison time as the amounts rise. As outlined in the Georgia Code, penalties increase with the value of the money or property involved, and defendants can also face related civil claims on top of any criminal sentence.
What homeowners should do
Senoia police are urging anyone who believes they were victimized in a similar way to contact the department. Consumer advocates say homeowners should treat contractor vetting like part of the job itself and verify a company’s status with state and local offices before handing over a big check. The Georgia Secretary of State offers an online lookup that shows whether a business is active or dissolved; see the Georgia Secretary of State business search for examples of what to check before signing. Additional safeguards include getting detailed written contracts, limiting deposits to modest amounts, collecting lien waivers from subcontractors and securing proof of current insurance.
