Local moving business owner charged with grand theft, accused of taking thousands in payment and not showing up
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IDAHO FALLS — A Bonneville County business owner is accused of taking payment for a job but failing to provide services.
Golden Barrett, 44, faces one grand theft charge and, if convicted, could receive up to 14 years in prison. The court set his bail at $20,000.
A plea agreement was signed and filed on Sept. 16, under which, in exchange for a guilty plea, the state will recommend probation for Barrett. This agreement is non-binding, meaning the judge does not have to accept the plea.
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According to court documents, a 34-year-old woman contacted the Bingham County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 8, 2025, to file a report against a moving company, Premier Coordinators, for failing to perform its contracted services.
The report was later transferred to the Idaho Falls Police Department because the incident occurred within IFPD’s jurisdiction.
The woman said she hired Premier Coordinators — whose owner is Barrett — to move a family member’s property from California to Idaho. The woman claimed that the moving company gave her a timeframe of Sept. 5 or 6 to begin the process, but never arrived.
The document states that the woman had paid Barrett $1,500 via Venmo as a deposit for the move, then later made another payment of $12,375 by cashier’s check.
The woman told officers that Barrett had given her a list of excuses for not showing up and later cut off contact. The woman filed the report after the rescheduled time, when Barrett messaged her that employees were on the way.
Police heard Barrett’s side of the story on Oct. 2, 2025.
Barrett claims that during the window that was promised to complete the move, he had been hospitalized and that medical staff had confiscated his phone, preventing him from communicating with the woman.
He later claimed his employees were unaware he was gone and were not trained to move furniture.
During the conversation, Barrett said that this was a matter to be dealt with in civil court, not criminally. However, the officer said that the IFPD is investigating this incident as a criminal offense.
The document states that Barrett became emotional when he asked the officer not to file charges, saying he would make things right with the woman.
But the State of Idaho had seized his funds over unresolved tax issues, making it difficult to issue the woman a refund.
When told that the $1,500 payment was made through Venmo and to refund it that way, Barrett claimed that since Idaho had wiped his bank account, he didn’t have the money to refund her.
After the conversation, the officer gave Barrett his contact information so Barrett could provide the IFPD with details about his hospitalization and financial documents related to his claim that the state took his accounts.
The documents also include Yelp reviews of Premier Coordinators, and the officer noted the number of negative reviews and the issues other individuals have had that echo the woman’s experience.
Five days after the conversation with Barrett, the officer was unable to reach Barrett. The woman told the officer that she hadn’t had any communication from Barrett either.
On Oct. 10, the woman told the officer she wanted charges filed against him.
A warrant for Barrett’s arrest was issued on March 25, 2026, and he appeared in court on Sept. 4 for an initial appearance.
Barrett has been appointed a public defender. The Idaho State Public Defender’s Office does not comment on active cases.
According to Idaho’s Crime Repository, no future court dates are listed.
Although Barrett has been accused of a crime, that does not necessarily mean he committed it. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty.