BOLO + FRAUD ALERT: URGENT The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office searching for several male suspects in connection with a case of fraud in the Danese area of Fayette County. Sheriff Steve Kessler released the following information concerning this ongoing investigation: On Thursday, November 21, 2013 four males in a chocolate-color four-door pickup truck with a tar sprayer in the bed of the truck approached an elderly couple at their residence on Hughart Road in the Danese area of Fayette County. These males approached the couple, told them that they had just completed a job at the residence of one of their neighbors and offered to apply a treatment to their driveway at a cost of $1.00 per square foot. After the males completed the work they attempted to charge $900.00 for the work but eventually agreed to settle for a payment of $800.00 in cash. They then left the residence. The victim stated that she believed these individuals may have used the name “Smith’s Paving,” but she was unsure of this name. These male subjects were described as follows: 1. A white male, possibly in his mid-30s, approximately 6-00 tall, with a large, muscular build (not fat), with short, dark hair. This individual was nicely dressed and spoke clearly and politely. 2. A white male, approximately 30-40 years of age, approximately 5-04, skinny build, facial hair and long, brown hair down to his ears. 3. A white male, approximately 50-60 years of age, approximately 5-08, described as “fat and sloppy looking,” with “a gut over his belt line,” grey hair with a beard and mustache. 4. A white male, approximately 40 years of age, approximately 5-08 with a skinny build. At approximately 5:30 pm on Friday, November 22, 2013 an individual came to the residence of this elderly couple. This individual was described as a white male, approximately 50-60 years of age, medium build, with short, dark hair. This male subject was wearing a black baseball-style hat with white lettering “POLICE” on it, black pants and a black jacket with an orange vest over it with “POLICE” written on this vest. This individual had a small hand-held radio clipped to the vest and had a pair of silver handcuffs. The victims were unsure if this individual was armed or not. This male suspect identified himself as a “Fayette County Deputy Sheriff” and stated that he was investigating a counterfeiting case. He stated that he had stopped the vehicle with the individuals who had worked on the couple’s driveway the previous day and found these individuals in possession of a large amount of counterfeit money. This individual then stated that he needed to examine all of the money that the couple had in their home in order to verify if it was counterfeit or not. The victims stated that this male subject was very “pushy and demanding” and brandished handcuffs and threatened to arrest the male victim if they did not cooperate. The victims also stated that they could hear transmissions over the radio clipped to the male suspect’s vest asking if the couple was cooperating, asking if they needed to “send in the dogs” and stating that “If the FBI gets involved they will come in and tear that house apart.” Although no direct threats were made, the couple stated that they believed this individual to be a police officer and were intimidated by him. The victims stated that this individual took all of the money in the residence- an amount in excess of two thousand dollars- counted this money out on a table in the residence, then told the couple that he would need to take this money to the Sheriff’s Office and “run it through a machine” to verify that it was not counterfeit. The suspect further stated that the normal policy of the Sheriff’s Department was to “issue a check” but that he would make sure that they got their cash back as long as it was not found to be counterfeit. He further stated that he would return to the residence within thirty minutes. The male suspect then left the residence in what was described as a large four-door car, possibly gold or tan in color. When the suspect did not return within thirty minutes the couple then called 911 to report this incident. The victims stated that the male suspect who impersonated a police officer was definitely not one of the four individuals who had performed the work on the driveway the previous day. “Based on the pattern of this crime, our investigators believe that these crimes may have been committed by members of the group commonly known as ‘The Gypsy Pavers,’ “ said Sheriff Kessler. “These individuals operate primarily out of the Bluefield/Princeton area of West Virginia, but we have investigated numerous complaints over the years where these individuals victimized local residents. Although the services these individuals offer varies, their normal method of operation is to obtain asphalt or tar at a local plant in the Beckley area, then travel to a rural area. They obtain the name of a local resident from a mailbox, then look for elderly victims. They will offer to do a job, such as paving or sealing a driveway with ‘leftover materials from another job’ at what sounds like a very reduced rate. The work they perform is vastly over-priced and substantially sub-standard. They will then attempt to extort as much cash money as possible from their targeted victims for the ‘work’ that was performed. They have even been known to intimidate victims into accompanying them to a local bank to withdraw money so that they can be paid in cash for the ‘work’ they performed.” Sheriff Kessler went on to add, “Residents, particularly elderly residents, should always be extremely cautious about individuals who approach them unsolicited and offer to perform work at ‘reduced rates.’ Residents should NEVER sign any type of written contract with these scam artists. If anyone approaches you in this manner, the best thing to do is to immediately contact 911 and ask that a police officer be dispatched to your residence.” “All of our Deputy Sheriffs, with the exception of our Detectives and drug investigators, always wear a full police uniform,” said Sheriff Kessler. Any legitimate member of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office will be wearing a black and grey dress uniform with a badge and name-tag and patches on the sleeves. If it is one of our K-9 officers they will be wearing a black uniform with patches and an embroidered name strip and badge. All of our detectives will be wearing a badge either on their belt or on a strap around their neck. All of our Deputies have a photo ID, signed by the Sheriff, in a black leather ID case and should display this ID upon request. If anyone ever has a question as to whether or not the individual they are speaking with is a legitimate police officer they can ask for the individual’s name and then call 911 to verify the officer’s identity.” This incident remains under investigation by Deputy S. Milam and the Detective Bureau of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office. Anyone having any information concerning this incident or any similar incidents is asked to contact the Fayette County 911 Center at (304) 574-3590, Crime Stoppers at (304) 255-7867 or you may submit a tip through our Department Facebook Page, “Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.”
Posted on: Sat, 23 Nov 2013 22:35:23 +0000
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