HOUSTON – A Houston man is charged with engaging in organized criminal activity for stealing nearly $500,000 worth of backup-power generators by scamming 30 distributors across Texas, Harris County Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen announced Tuesday.
“He preyed on businesses that provide emergency supplies and on people trying to protect their homes and families when they face times of disaster,” Rosen said. “As our investigation continues, we anticipate more suspects will be charged.” The scam involved probing the internet to obtain stolen credit-card numbers to buy the new stationary generators for an average of $7,000 to $10,000 each and then sell them at deep discounts on Facebook Marketplace, according to court records. James Eric Barnes, 46, faces up to life in prison if convicted of the first-degree felony.
Harris County Precinct One Constable’s investigators believe more than 30 companies lost more than $470,000 since 2023 and that the thieves actually tried to scam more than $900,000., but many of the illegal purchases were stopped either before the generators were shipped from the companies. Barnes purchased generators from businesses in Texas cities including Austin, Beaumont, Brookshire, Dallas and San Antonio and sold them in Harris County and the surrounding area.
Sales of the generators, which are powered by natural gas or liquid propane, have skyrocketed in recent years in Houston and other cities where extreme weather such as hard freezes and hurricanes have triggered widespread losses of electricity. When Precinct One deputies closed in on Barnes’ operation, they seized 10 new, boxed generators in a storage shed.
The investigation showed the sale of about two generators every week for a year. Barnes is also accused of illegally obtaining rideable lawnmowers and reselling them to unsuspecting customers. He used more than a dozen bogus identities, including such names as John Hoover, Michael Martin and Ronny Martin, investigators said. Anyone who may have been among Barnes’ sales victims should call Precinct One at 713-755-7628.
“Remember, if a deal seems too good to be true, that is because it is too good to be true,” Rosen said. “Don’t help criminals stay in business.”
