A Denver construction company claims that an internal audit has uncovered “a deliberate, calculated scheme of fraud, theft and deception” by a former senior project executive.
Frontline Construction alleges that Joe Larsen used “counterfeit documentation, concealment of personal transactions and the misuse of Frontline’s corporate credit card” to rob it of $167,000. The fraud began during Larsen’s fourth day on the job, according to the company.
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.
Larsen, who now lives in Wisconsin, did not answer BusinessDen’s requests for comment.
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’s latest location, and started work on Prost Brewing’s new biergarten in Wheat Ridge.
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 Four days later, he used falsified and outdated receipts to steal thousands of dollars in fake travel reimbursements, Frontline alleges.
Filed Oct. 10, the construction company’s 27-page lawsuit is meticulously detailed, listing the 118 times between January 2024 and September 2025 that Larsen allegedly exploited his employer’s reimbursement system and company credit cards to take $167,000.
“Frontline’s initial internal audit and investigation — completed in August and September 2025 — confirmed that Larsen’s fraudulent activity was deliberate, organized and extended across multiple expense categories,” claims the company, which is said to still be investigating.
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’s home in Wisconsin, according to Frontline. A $3,200 expense for cleanup at a Texas project allegedly bought a semi-automatic rifle instead.
“He employed sophisticated and repeated deceit, including falsifying vendor names, altering electronic receipts and fabricating supporting documentation,” Frontline says. “Each submission was calculated to mislead Frontline’s accounting system and bypass internal controls.”
The company claims his alleged embezzlement “inflicted significant financial and reputational harm,” without detailing what reputational damage it has suffered. Through its lawyers, Max Stich and Philip Goiran of Tiemeier & Stich in Denver, Frontline declined to comment.
The company says it has “demanded an immediate return” of its money “but Larsen refused.” So, it is suing its former executive for theft and fraud, among other claims.
This story was originally published by BusinessDen.
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