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 "The Mountaineer Newspaper"

 Friday, October 12, 2007

Dectives: once scammed, little can be done

Beth Pleming - Staff Writer

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Rick Smith, REALTOR Diane Flowers needed a new roof. Prior to hiring a roofing contractor, she obtained two estimates before calling a friend who owned a roofing company. What she did not expect was the so-called friend would scam her out of ,000.

He matched the lesser of the two and I told him I would give him the job because he was a friend,Flowers said. I knew he would do a great job since he had done roofing repairs for us in the past.

Flowers gave him ,000 for supplies and was told he would be out the next morning to perform the work.

Surprise, he was a no-show and made no phone call,she said.

When Flowers did reach the man, she was fed what she describes as many lies,which included tales of broken down vehicles.

She made many requests for a refund of the ,000 when it was clear the work would not be done, but the man did not comply.

I ate ,000,Flowers said. This was a so-called friend and it just baffles me.

Flowers is not alone. She is one of hundreds of thousands of people in the United States who are victimized each year by con artists.

The Federal Trade Commission received 428,319 fraud complaints in 2006, with 85 percent of victims reporting they paid out money as a result of the scam. Consumers reported losing more than .1 billion last year to scam artists, with the median amount lost was 0, according to a report issued earlier this year by the FTC.

Sixty percent of the complaints reported indicated initial contact between the victim and the criminal was via the Internet, with 45 percent originating from an e-mail.

But scam artists work their magic via the mail, telephone or in person, such was the case with Flowers.

Heather Mathews had a similar problem as Flowers. The work was completed, but it did not pass inspection.

Mathews said her mother called Tom Brennan, a Waynesville area handyman who was listed in the telephone book, about constructing a deck. He asked for the entire amount up front, she said, but her mother refused and only paid half.

Brennan showed up to do the work, but came alone and borrowed tools, Mathews said. He even had his small daughter with him, who he got Mathew's mother to watch.

He completed the job within a few days, Mathews said, but never returned the tools.

Brennan informed my mother that she should not walk on the deck or stairs for one week to allow the water seal to cure,Mathews said. Brennan requested that he be paid in cash, but my mother informed him that she did not keep much cash in her home and she had to pay by check.

After a week, my mother called the building inspector to come and check out the deck. It was declared that the deck would never pass inspection and in fact would be very dangerous to even walk on, Mathews added.

Brennan, who was arrested last month in Buncombe County on charges of obtaining property by false pretense. He has also served jail time for charges of cheat property/services and false pretenses and cheats, both which are felonies.

Mathews said she knows of at least three people Brennan has scammed and hopes people will check out more carefully those they hire to perform work.

Another scam that occurred regarded a woman with a disability who did not check out those she hired as caretakers.

Cheryl Earehart said her now-deceased mother was taken for an estimated ,000 before she died earlier this year. The perpetrators were caretakers for Marcia Tuck, who had multiple sclerosis.

She had two broken legs and put an ad in the paper asking for help with cleaning and cooking,Earehart said. The crooks responded and took advantage of her and wiped out her accounts.

Earehart has a box full of paperwork, documenting the fraud that took place with her mother. She contacted authorities, but nothing could be done because the victim was deceased. She advises that people take care when hiring help.

Only hire professionals and then get background checks on people,she said.

While many scams that have taken place in Haywood County involve person-to-person contact, there is fraudulent activity that takes place through the mail. Residents have received letters from foreign countries stating they have won money in a lottery or sweepstakes. One Waynesville resident even received a check for nearly ,000. The check appeared legitimate, until the man's bank informed him that it was indeed counterfeit.

There are also the chain letters people receive, asking to send to six people on a list included in the letter.

People should be wary of anything that seems too good to be true, one victim said, and always check out people before hiring them, authorities advise.