MOULTRIE — A Berrien County man is charged in connection with the theft of $147,000 by a person posing as a licensed contractor throughout South Georgia and North Florida.
The Berrien County suspect was arrested Feb. 4 by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office for warrants that had been taken out by the Colquitt County Sheriff’s Office, according to CCSO investigator Blake Livings.
The suspect “had been posing as a licensed contractor and was taking money from victims and promising to do the work. Well, he would either never do the work or would continue to give excuses on why he wouldn’t be able to work,” Livings said.
Livings was approached by a victim who had found the suspect on Angieslist.com.
“The victim told me that she had found him on the site and (he) had promised to do some work on her home. They went to Home Depot together to order some things for her shower and some other materials. Eventually, the order that they placed was canceled because (the suspect) never came to pick up the stuff,” Livings said.
He said the victim gave the suspect $5,000 as a down payment and purchased the materials from Home Depot that were never picked up.
In addition to the Colquitt County woman, Livings was able to identify other victims of the scam which range from around Georgia and Florida:
– Four people from Berrien County.
– One in Lowndes County.
– One in Hamilton County, Florida.
– One in Nassau County, Florida.
Livings said he is certain there are more.
He said that altogether the victims he has been able to identify have lost at least $147,000.
Recently, the CCSO placed an announcement on its Facebook page that asks any other victims to step forward. The post currently has 742 shares as of Feb. 9.
“There are certainly more people out there who he’s taken advantage of,” Livings said.
The man is charged with felony conversion for real estate property improvements, but Livings expects other counties will be taking out warrants, too.
