Tree workers scam 90-year-old woman out of $118,000 in savings, Georgia cops say
A 90-year-old woman was swindled out of $118,000 in life savings after she paid tree trimmers for work that ultimately went unfinished, according to Georgia authorities.
Now, three men have been charged.
Robert John Criswell, 39, of Lindale; Kyle Dewayne Dover, 28, of Cedartown; and Hunter Chase Hammitt, 23, of Kingston, were arrested Wednesday, Aug. 10, after they were accused of defrauding the Armuchee woman out of $118,000, Floyd County police said in a news release.
On some occasions, investigators said the men even followed her to the bank to collect their cash payments.
The trio was employed by a local tree company but were working on their own when they scammed the woman, according to authorities. Between December 2021 and April 2022, she wrote the men 33 checks for various amounts.
“Some tree work was completed, but in those cases the trees were left in place and small brush piles were left on the property,” police said. “Shutters that were intended to be hung were barely attached and in some cases are hanging crooked by one screw.”
A Better Business Bureau report found that older people are often the target of monetary scams, mainly because they tend to have more cash on hand than younger people. And the losses are usually higher.
“A lot of elderly people are hesitant to admit that they have been scammed because they are embarrassed and ashamed and they fear losing their independence,” Nancy B. Cahalen, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau of Central New England, said in a statement. “So a good portion of these scams undoubtedly go unreported.”
The consumer watchdog group also issued a recent warning about contractor scams aimed at swindling unsuspecting homeowners out of their money, McClatchy News reported.
Criswell and Dover were booked into jail on exploitation of the elderly and theft by deception charges, Floyd County police said. They remained held on $15,000 bond as of Friday, Aug. 12, booking records show.
Hammitt faces the same charges in addition to a probation violation and is being held without bond, police said.
Armuchee is about 75 miles northwest of Atlanta.
This story was originally published August 12, 2022 at 11:48 AM with the headline "Tree workers scam 90-year-old woman out of $118,000 in savings, Georgia cops say."