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Four Arrested in Alleged Scam, Attack Targeting Elderly Man Stafford County Sheriff's Office

July 21,2009

STAFFORD, Va. - Authorities say an 89-year-old man survived an alleged scam and assault after police say four Stafford County men tried to take his money.

All four men are reportedly under arrest Tuesday night and police are wondering if there could be more victims.

The neighbors know what happened -- especially those who have lived near Hope Road for a long time. Their elderly friend fought off men who tried to take his money.

"One was talking to him while the other ones were in his house doing what they need to do.... whatever they were after money or whatever they could get a hold of," said Bennie Lester, a neighbor.

Stafford County deputies say the men faced the barrel of the man's gun after they allegedly forced their way into his home and began to attack him.

"He ended up on the floor. He was able to get the gun from underneath the mattress and then he brandished the firearm, pointed it at them and at that point they began to taunt him," said Major David Decatur of the Stafford County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators say the victim was approached last week by the men who traveled in a red pickup truck. They reportedly said they'd been there before to reseal his asphalt driveway and offered to do it again at a discount rate of $2,000 if he paid in cash.

The victim did and when his family found out and believed he'd been scammed, they filed a report at the sheriff's office. The next day, deputies say they received a 911 call for help from the man who said the men had returned and were ransacking his house.

That's when, authorities say, the homeowner pulled a gun on them. The alleged scam artists left but deputies caught up with them a few miles away and arrested all four.

2008 Chevy Silverado Truck - Tennessee License Plate # 809QRB

--Stafford County Sheriff's Office

"It is scary -- now we'll watch out for more closely," said Mary Lester, a neighbor.

Shirley Gibson says her driveway was resealed last month but she was careful who did the work. "We haven't had anybody stop and try to take our [money]," she said.

Anyone with information about the suspects or the crime is asked to call the Stafford Sheriff's Office at 540-658-4400.

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Auburn Police issue asphalt sealing-paving scam consumer alert

AUBURN - The City of Auburn Police Department would like to alert area residents concerning a group of individuals soliciting homeowners to do asphalt paving and driveway sealing.

The police were alerted by a local bank employee and advised that an elderly customer of the bank came into the bank and withdrew a large sum of money.

After the bank employee inquired about the withdrawal the customer stated it was for a driveway repair she was having done at her home. The money was withdrawn but the bank employee was still suspicious and followed the customer outside where the customer was met outside by two awaiting men.

The bank employee wrote down the vehicle license plate and vehicle description and then reported the incident to Auburn Police to further investigate.

When Auburn Police Officers interviewed the elderly woman she told officers she was solicited at her home by an individual concerning repair to her driveway.

The elderly woman ultimately agreed to have the work done to her driveway but paid over $5,000 for the work. It was reported that the group of men were at the home for less than an hour and did not perform the work as described on the work order.

Auburn Police Detective Christopher McLoughlin tracked down the men who operate under the name “Cooper Seal Coating and Asphalt Repair.” Officers were able to recover all of the money and assisted the elderly woman in re-depositing her money back into her account.

The men were advised that their tactics were illegal and they were not to continue business in the City of Auburn without the proper permits established by City and the State of New York.

The Auburn Police Department has learned that this group has also conducted such business practices in the City of Geneva using the same method of operation. The Auburn Police Department would like to remind citizens to only hire an established local company that has a reputation of being credible and trustworthy.

Published: Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Police: Teen scams seniors over paving
Elderly pair hit for $7,500 on driveway repairs

By ALBERT McKEON Staff Writer

‘Contractors' Prey On Vulnerable Consumers
Posted 2009-06-23
By Pete DeLea
ELKTON - Last August, 85-year-old David Comer heard a knock at the door of his Elkton home. When he answered, he was greeted by name by a man claiming to be a legitimate contractor offering to seal his paved driveway.

"Your driveway is in bad shape and it might need a coat," Comer recalled the man saying while standing at his Monger Hill Road home. Comer told the man he couldn't afford to pay for the job. But the man, later identified as Shawn Matthew Cherry of Strasburg, wouldn't take no for an answer.

"He said, ‘I'll give you a good deal and a first-class job,'" said Comer, who added the man told him he would charge $1 a foot and give him the total after the job was done. Thinking he had no choice, Comer said he agreed. Fifteen minutes later, Cherry returned to the door with three other men. He demanded almost $2,000 for the job - a project prosecutors later claimed wasn't just way overpriced and shoddy, but also damaged the siding on Comer's garage. From previous jobs, Comer knew it cost too much.

"When he hit us with that bill, I said, ‘Are you kidding me?'" he said. But Cherry and his crew weren't joking. Comer said he saw no alternative but to pay them. "They were just standing there like hound dogs staring at a bone," he said, adding that they had cashed the check within 30 minutes of leaving his home. With summer approaching and reports of similar incidents popping up, Comer and his 80-year-old wife, Clara, say they don't want to see others taken as they were.
"It gives you a sour taste," Comer said. "I hope our experience will help someone else." Cracking Down Over the past few weeks, police around the Valley have seen a spike in reports of would-be contractors whose high-pressure tactics often target the elderly. Sgt. Felicia Glick of the Rockingham County Sheriff's Office said residents should be wary if a handyman shows up at their doors.

"Local professional pavers don't go door to door," said Glick, adding that residents should call police if the visitor refuses to leave. "People need to keep that in mind." Rockingham County Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Correy Smith said the office is taking cases such as the Comers' seriously.
"They're preying on older people," Smith said. "The victims I've had were in their 70s and 80s." In May, Smith prosecuted Cherry, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor for operating without a contractor's license. He received a year of suspended jail time and was ordered to repay the Comers, although they say they've yet to receive a penny. Smith, who said he received three calls Friday about alleged scams, said consumers must stand their ground when confronted with a high-pressure sales pitch.

"They're kind of pushy about it," he said. "One of the phrases that kept coming up [during interviews with victims] was, ‘They weren't going to take no for an answer.'" Heavy Price Tag Such tactics hurt more than just the folks who receive a bad paving or roofing job. Local contractors say they're also getting a bad reputation. "It makes it look bad on all of us," said Matt Pettit, owner of Pettit's Pavement, which serves Page and Rockingham counties.

"They're using products that aren't sealing and charging them an outrageous price. It's doing more harm to their driveways than it's doing any good." Earlier this year, Smith contacted Pettit about testifying on standard prices if any cases go to trial. Pettit, who has been in business in the area for about 20 years, said a job like the Comers' - roughly a 50-square-foot driveway - would probably run about $250. A simple driveway would never run into the thousands. If you're getting into thousands of dollars it would be a parking lot," he said.

Beware of Driveway Scams
Mary Jo Denton
Herald-Citizen Staff
Monday, Jun 22, 2009
COOKEVILLE, TN -- They promise to seal your driveway, but first they need some money to buy the materials. You pay, but they never show up again, and the phone numbers they have left you turn out to be fake.
That's the latest twist on the old driveway work scam that is being pulled on Cookevillians right now, police say. Detectives say they have two suspects, a man and a woman, in at least two cases.
Officer Brian Long took a report on June 17 at a residence on Georgetown Road. The victim, a man, told the officer that on June 14 a young man had stopped by his house and asked "if he could seal his driveway." "He said he had done some work for this man's neighbor and would do the job for $750. Then, the next day, he returned and said the materials cost too much and asked for money to buy the materials."
The young man asked him to write a $250 check and make it out to his girlfriend, and the victim complied, the officer said. By June 17, the victim still had not seen the young man again, so he called police. The phone number the man had left with the victim was answered by someone who did not know the young man or his girlfriend, but someone had already cashed his check, the victim told the officer.
Then the victim checked with his neighbor for whom the young man had done work in the past, obtained another phone number that neighbor had, and soon learned the person answering that number did not know either of the two. In another case, a State Street resident told Officer Ron Franklin on June 19 that he had been scammed out of $150 by a man and a woman who promised to seal his driveway, but never showed up to do the work. His check was cashed by the woman, the victim said.
In both cases, the officers developed suspects and showed the victims photos of the suspects. Now officers are looking for the same suspects in both cases. Detectives Sgt. Tammy Goolsby and Bobby Anderson are investigating.

Men steal $4,100 in driveway repair dupe
An elderly Pike Creek man who was persuaded to have his driveway sealed by a couple of con men was swindled out of $4,100 when the sealant they used washed away in the rain.
New Castle County police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the pair, one of whom was captured on surveillance video as he was entering a bank to cash the victim’s check. Officers were called to the 82-year-old victim's Jarrell Farms home on Wednesday by the man’s daughter.

The investigation revealed the her father was approached by the con men, who were soliciting work in his neighborhood, and they convinced him that his driveway needed repair. The agreed-upon price for sealing the driveway was $4,900, said Cpl. Trinidad Navarro, a county police spokesman.

When the job was completed, the workers were paid $4,900 by check by the victim. The two men took the check to a bank, but the bank wouldn’t cash it. So the con men went back to the victim’s home and had him issue another check in the amount of $4,100, which they then took to another bank, which did cash it. Navarro said while an officer was taking the daughter’s report, it started to rain, causing the alleged sealant to wash away and chunk in some areas.
Police are asking anyone who recognizes the man in the surveillance photo to call county police at 395-8110 or Delaware Crime Stoppers at (800) TIP-3333.
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Driveway Repaving Scam Warning
Winchester, Va. Posted: 2:22 PM May 19, 2009 Last Updated: 2:39 PM May 19, 2009

The Winchester Police Department is warning residents about something that may sound like a good deal but is actually a scam.

They say there have been reports of driveway service scams in the area.

Sheriff Lenny Millholland says somebody offered a resident paving services last week. The person was charged close to $1,000, and now he has dandelions coming out of his driveway.

Millholland says, if you don't solicit the work, then you shouldn't let people do it.

"If somebody comes to your house, make sure it's somebody that you've contacted on the phone to do driveway sealing or to do repairs to your drive way or to put down a new driveway," says Millholland. Don't let somebody who just knocks on your door, enter into an agreement and put blacktop down."

Millholland says these types of scams are seasonal and usually happen during the warmer months.