A Hastings man faces five felony charges and one gross misdemeanor charge after prosecutors alleged he took more than $82,000 from a local plumbing company through a series of transactions stretching back nearly five years.
Brandon Anthony Anderson, 47, of Hastings, was charged Monday, Aug. 17, in Dakota County District Court with six counts of theft by swindle. Five of the charges are felonies, including one alleging an aggregated theft of more than $35,000, while the sixth is a gross misdemeanor.
According to the criminal complaint, investigators identified $82,088.48 in payments that prosecutors allege Anderson kept while he was employed by MidState Plumbing, 3500 Cannon St. in Hastings. The complaint says the documented transactions occurred between October 2021 and November 2024.
The complaint also indicates investigators believe the amount identified in the charges may not represent the full extent of the alleged losses. The owner of MidState Plumbing initially told a Hastings Police Department investigator that Anderson may have taken as much as $85,000 from the business over several years. Investigators later compiled the transactions for which prosecutors said they could establish dates and values.
No determination of guilt has been made. Anderson has been summoned to make his first court appearance Sept. 29.
According to the statement of probable cause, the Hastings Police Department investigation began in March 2025, when an investigator was alerted to possible thefts involving an employee of MidState Plumbing.
The investigator met with the owner of the company, who identified Anderson as a former employee who had worked for MidState for several years. According to the complaint, Anderson had filled several roles with the company and at times was responsible for directing the work other employees were supposed to complete.
The owner told investigators he began to suspect something was wrong in September 2024. According to the complaint, the portion of the business overseen by Anderson had lost a significant amount of money, material expenses appeared unusually high, and Anderson's behavior had changed.
The investigation ultimately focused on three methods through which prosecutors allege Anderson took money from the company.
According to the complaint, investigators allege Anderson collected payments for work completed by MidState and kept the payments himself. They also allege he sold company inventory to employees for their personal use or side projects and retained the money and sold company inventory to customers without turning the proceeds over to MidState.
The earliest transaction listed in the complaint dates to Oct. 9, 2021. Prosecutors allege Anderson received an $850 check for the installation of a water heater. That transaction forms the basis of the sixth charge, theft by swindle involving more than $500 but not more than $1,000, a gross misdemeanor.
The allegations increase substantially beginning the following year.
Between July and November 2022, investigators identified four transactions totaling $4,111. According to the complaint, those included $1,200 in cash for a new 50-gallon water heater, $1,800 in cash for two new water heaters, $661 through Venmo for a water softener and $450 through cash and Venmo for five batteries.
Those allegations make up the fifth count against Anderson, a felony charge of aggregated theft by swindle involving more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000.
Investigators identified another $4,300 in alleged transactions between January and May 2023. The complaint lists $900 paid in cash for a new water softener and $3,400 in cash for a new air conditioner.
That period resulted in another felony theft-by-swindle charge involving an aggregated amount of more than $1,000 but not more than $5,000.
The amounts alleged in the complaint grew considerably during the latter part of 2023 and into 2024.
For the period from September 2023 through January 2024, investigators identified four alleged transactions totaling $14,000. The complaint lists cash payments of $3,000 and $5,000 for work on a furnace and air conditioner, another $900 cash payment for a water softener and a $5,100 cash payment for contract work performed by MidState.
That period forms the basis of the third charge, felony theft by swindle involving more than $5,000.
Between February and June 2024, the complaint alleges another $21,710.40 was improperly collected.
The largest individual transaction identified during that period was $9,154 in cash for work performed by MidState for Belepar Homes. Investigators also listed a $400 cash payment for fuel gauges, $6,156.40 in cash for service work MidState performed on an air conditioner and $1,200 in cash for a two-ton Goodman air conditioner.
The complaint also alleges Anderson received a $4,800 check for contract work completed by MidState for Silverado Landscaping.
Together, those transactions resulted in the second count against Anderson, another felony theft-by-swindle charge involving more than $5,000.
The largest group of alleged transactions came between July and November 2024.
Prosecutors allege Anderson received seven payments during that period totaling $37,117.08. The transactions identified in the complaint include $250 through Venmo for a Milwaukee-brand saw and drill, $800 in cash for a water softener and a $2,667.08 check for a piece of equipment.
The complaint also identifies a $20,000 cash payment for HVAC and plumbing work and another $12,000 cash payment for contract work performed by MidState.
Investigators allege Anderson additionally received $600 in cash as an unauthorized settlement involving unpaid invoices owed to MidState, along with an $800 Venmo payment for another water softener.
Those allegations make up the most serious charge in the case, felony aggregated theft by swindle involving more than $35,000. Under the charge listed in the complaint, the maximum statutory penalty is up to 20 years in prison and a fine within the range specified by state law.
The remaining felony charges carry lower maximum penalties depending upon the value alleged in each count. The complaint lists maximum prison sentences of up to 10 years for each of the two charges involving more than $5,000, and up to five years for each felony involving between $1,000 and $5,000. The gross misdemeanor count carries a maximum sentence of one year.
Those are statutory maximum penalties for the individual charges and are not a prediction of what sentence, if any, Anderson could ultimately receive.
Adding the transactions specifically listed in the probable-cause statement results in $82,088.48 in alleged losses. The complaint states that the list represents the thefts for which investigators were able to establish dates and values and may not include every transaction investigators believe occurred.
The case was investigated by the Hastings Police Department and is being prosecuted by the Dakota County Attorney's Office. Hastings Police Investigator Chad Schlichte signed the complaint, which was approved for prosecution by Henry Capuano on Aug. 17.
A judicial officer found probable cause to support the charges later that day and issued a summons requiring Anderson to appear in court to answer the complaint. The court filing states that failure to appear could result in a warrant being issued.
Chief Judge Christopher J. Lehmann also issued a booking order Aug. 17 requiring Anderson to schedule an appointment at a Dakota County Book and Release Center, where he is to be booked, fingerprinted and photographed.
The order specifically describes booking as an administrative process and states that Anderson will not be arrested or taken into custody simply to complete that process. Failure to comply with the booking order, however, could result in a bench warrant.
Anderson's first appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, before Dakota County District Court Judge Bryce A.D. Ehrman. A separate notice filed with the court says the hearing is scheduled to be conducted remotely by video.
The six charges remain pending, and the case is open in Dakota County District Court.