Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The purpose of this thread is not to be derogatory to our area - but rather so residents can perhaps learn from these cases and avoid becoming a victim of a scam in the future.
I will post news articles about scams here - and if you feel you have been a victim of a scam or shoddy workmanship - please post about your personal experience in this thread.
Bradenton cabinet business scammed clients, spent their money in Las Vegas, police say
Two Bradenton business owners are facing charges of fraud, according to court documents that say they scammed over a dozen customers out of nearly $200,000.
Ryan Nobles and Nicole Anderson, owners of now-closed M&L Cabinets at 7320 Manatee Ave. W., are charged with scheming to defraud in the amount of $50,000 or more, court records show.
The Bradenton Police Department said in court documents that the two collected "large amounts of money from customers" who placed down payments on kitchen renovations, but provided customers with nothing in return and instead used the money "for entertainment."
Police cite information in a subpoena showing that Nobles used his company credit card for $226,788 from Aug. 1 2022 through Jan. 19 2023, spending large sums of money at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel, in Las Vegas and on cruises.
Similarly, police say Anderson charged over $90,000 to her company card during the same time period, mostly through ATM withdrawals and fees.
Customers filed nearly 20 police reports
Court records show nearly 20 reports have been filed with the Bradenton Police Department since 2022 of customers ordering and paying for a total of $191,925 worth of goods and services from the cabinet company without receiving their full order.
Detectives say customers often received little or nothing in return for substantial down payments, often in the amount of 50% or more.
Several police reports filed by customers say when they attempted to contact the business about their orders, their calls often went unreturned.
Last edited by wondermint2; 09-24-2023 at 08:44 AM..
As the residents began to rebuild, word spread about Justin Hoover, who did aluminum work. Canegalie met Hoover while he was measuring her neighbor's damaged carport. She described him as "very, very kind. A gentleman to the tee."
Hoover’s charm won Drewing over as well.
“He was so polite and respectful," she said. "Yes ma'am, no ma'am, absolutely.”
But Sarasota Sheriff’s detectives have another way to describe him: a wanted man.
Hoover hit up 31 storm victims, most in Venice Isle Estates. He collected thousands of dollars from the homeowners in March and April, according to police records, but didn't return to complete the work.
In September, nearly a year after the storm, the sheriff’s office issued warrants for the 45-year-old's arrest.
Drewing and Canegalie, who each gave Hoover more than $5,000, are included in the criminal case. Canegalie cried while talking about the trust she placed in Hoover and the money she could not afford to lose.
A Sarasota real estate business may still be liable for $1.3 million in loans even after police arrested a pair of Parrish residents in January on charges they improperly took control of the business and fraudulently mortgaged the company's properties.
Sarasota Police arrested Robert Houston, 49, and Linda Lukas, 72, on numerous fraud counts alleging they assumed leadership of Glenco Properties Group Corp. in 2022 using the state's online business directory before then mortgaging some of the 21 properties owned by an elderly Sarasota woman and her son, according to an arrest report. Both remain in jail awaiting trial.
Despite the fraud charges, a Florida law passed in 1971 aimed at "the worthwhile end of uncluttering the channels of commerce" could mean Glenco Properties' owners will have to pay back the $1.3 million, even though they had nothing to do with the financing deal and brought a civil suit as soon as they found out about the unauthorized borrowing.
Hoffman said similar types of fraud are on the rise in Florida, particularly on vacant property where an owner does not regularly check on it. He said that some county clerks offices offer property notification services, which can be helpful in identifying fraud early.
“The title industry is getting hit with a lot of different fraud schemes on a lot of different fronts,” Hoffman said. “It’s not a one-front war. It’s a multifront war.”
However, few in the title or banking industry appear to want more requirements or regulations aimed at preventing fraud as it would mean increased liability, work loads and likely increased costs to customers.
“As much as everyone wants to stop the fraud, no one wants more added to their job description that they are not going to be paid for,” he said. "And no one's gung-ho to add all these additional expenses to consumers, many of which will never suffer this type of fraud loss.”
The Herald-Tribune spotlighted the use of the state's business directory at Sunbiz.org in the alleged fraud. Houston is accused of filing fraudulent information with Sunbiz that named him the company's chief executive officer that he then used to take out mortgages on Glenco's properties.
Sarasota State Rep. Fiona McFarland succeeded in passing a bill to allow the state's Division of Corporations — the state agency that oversees Sunbiz.org — to implement a password system to prevent similar unauthorized takeovers of businesses.
But that state-maintained website continues to have the glaring vulnerability that allows anyone to change or update Florida companies officers, registered agents and mailing addresses by updating an annual report online.
Off Lease Only, a popular used car dealership, abruptly closed earlier this month, laying off hundreds of employees and leaving customers in a lurch.
Just days before the sudden closure, a Brandon family forked over $3,200 for a car they never received. They want their money back.
Bill and Misty Berger helped their 16-year-old son buy a 2012 Hyundai Elantra from Off Lease Only in Bradenton.
On September 4, they plunked down $3,200 for the down payment, and the car was supposed to be delivered to their home a few days later.
Instead, three days later, they saw a note on the dealership website: it closed and filed for bankruptcy.
“You have to know as a company that you may be filing bankruptcy, something’s wrong. Why would you take my money?”
The next day, their $3,200 check cleared the bank.
Off Lease Only was based in South Florida and had five dealerships throughout the state, including the one in Bradenton.
The company disclosed assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million, and between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors, according to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken reached out to a public relations firm working with the company and was told the company is working to return deposits for deals that weren’t financed yet.
That would include the Bergers. They say the loss of the down payment hurts even more because their son earned the money himself.
“He’s actually working at a local pizza place delivering pizza,” he said. “He absolutely loves it and he’s been saving tips and all his money to go towards this car.”
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of a fraudulent arrest warrant scam that is making the rounds again.
Unsuspecting victims are receiving phone calls from individuals who identify themselves as law enforcement officers. The caller claims the victim has an outstanding warrant for their arrest that needs to be paid immediately, or the victim will be arrested.
These threats are followed by requests for the victim to travel to locations with stand-alone Bitcoin ATMs, transfer funds, and then turn themselves in at the jail with their ATM receipt. Unfortunately, some of these criminals have succeeded with unsuspecting victims.
Here are some tips from SCSO to assist the public in avoiding these scams:
1. Do not confirm any identifying/personal information.
2. Law enforcement will not threaten you and your families with additional criminal charges.
3. Law enforcement will not ask for payment over the phone and will never ask in the form of wire transfers, bitcoin, gift cards, or websites not affiliated with law enforcement.
4. If you do not recognize the alleged criminal or civil accusation, it most likely is not valid.
5. “Verify” -- SCSO strongly urges anyone to contact their respective law enforcement agencies to determine if the call was legitimate.
If you feel that you have been victimized by a similar scam, contact your local law enforcement agency.
"The above picture is the real Lieutenant Weldon. Bradenton Police Department is reminding people that he will never call you and ask you to send him gift cards or money because you have an outstanding warrant or traffic ticket.
Lt. Weldon’s name, as well as the names of other BPD senior officers, has been used in the latest round of imposter scams.
Victims report receiving a call from someone claiming to be a member of the Department administration. The caller asks for personal information as part of an official investigation or because of a warrant or traffic ticket. Victims report the callers requested their credit or debit card numbers, banking information, social security numbers, prepaid gift cards or remote access to the victim’s computer.
The scammers use spoofing technology to change the caller ID to appear the call originates from the Bradenton Police Department.
If you believe you have been a victim of one of these scams, please call us at 941-932-9300 or email Detective Michael Carpenter at michael.carpenter@bradentonpd.com.
You can also file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office online at www.myfloridalegal.com or by phone at 1-866-9-NO SCAM."
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents of a fraudulent arrest warrant scam that is making the rounds again.
Unsuspecting victims are receiving phone calls from individuals who identify themselves as law enforcement officers. The caller claims the victim has an outstanding warrant for their arrest that needs to be paid immediately, or the victim will be arrested.
These threats are followed by requests for the victim to travel to locations with stand-alone Bitcoin ATMs, transfer funds, and then turn themselves in at the jail with their ATM receipt. Unfortunately, some of these criminals have succeeded with unsuspecting victims.
Here are some tips from SCSO to assist the public in avoiding these scams:
1. Do not confirm any identifying/personal information.
2. Law enforcement will not threaten you and your families with additional criminal charges.
3. Law enforcement will not ask for payment over the phone and will never ask in the form of wire transfers, bitcoin, gift cards, or websites not affiliated with law enforcement.
4. If you do not recognize the alleged criminal or civil accusation, it most likely is not valid.
5. “Verify” -- SCSO strongly urges anyone to contact their respective law enforcement agencies to determine if the call was legitimate.
If you feel that you have been victimized by a similar scam, contact your local law enforcement agency.
This is an old scam and it is definitely still going around. I moved from Venice to the Midwest earlier this year and just last week a guy claiming to be a Sarasota sheriff called me and said he had a warrant for my arrest for missing jury duty. He said I could resolve this through my current county of residence but first I would have to pay a fine that would be repaid to me after resolution of the warrant. He said the fine was $6400. I told him to go try that scam on someone else and he said he was sending a sheriff to my house and I would be extradited back to Sarasota county. I laughed and hung up. Sheriff hasn't shown up yet.
Once again scammers are finding a new way to try and get money from people. Now a scam that has been targeting Comcast customers has started to target Spectrum internet customers.
Recently a Cord Cutters News reader emailed us and detailed a recent scam possibly targeting Spectrum internet customers, a cable provider of which they are a subscriber.
Our reader he was offered a promotion from a caller claiming to be with Spectrum. During an almost hour-long call, he was told he could halve her cable internet bill for three years with no contract, but he had to pay $520 up front to cover the cost of the first eight months. The fake Spectrum representative he paid the $520 — which he requested in the form of a Target gift card — within two hours, he’d get a $100 Spectrum gift card in addition to the lower bill.
We have also been told that these scammers will also text customers with an offer like this so be careful about text offers similar to this one also.
We have confirmed that Target has no such relationship with Spectrum. The scammer later called her again and asked her to give him the gift card number. Our reader, who hadn’t purchased the gift card, confronted the scammer and contacted Spectrum’s live chat about the encounter.
You'd better be checking your bank account daily – if not hourly! A new PYMNTS Intelligence and Hawk AI study says that the rise in digital payments has caused 43% of banks across the country to suffer fraud and in ways they never have before.
Each financial institution lost nearly half a million dollars on average related to scams alone this year, but it’s not just the losses that are bringing the heat. The sophistication of these scams is forcing banks to increase investments and deploy modern-day machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to counter growing fraud.
The scams leading the way are bank support impersonation scams. Those snow jobs are laying waste to banks just like they are with other industries.
But there are two other finance- and bank-related swindles that are starting to rise in the terror ranks, too: “Pay Yourself” and “Check Washing.”
'Pay Yourself'
The “Pay Yourself” scam is ruffling lots of feathers, most notably with Zelle customers. Zelle says the scam begins with a text message from a scammer that looks like a fraud alert from your bank – a trick that bank impersonators also play.
If you respond to the text message and engage the scammer, step two is a call from a number that appears to be your bank. On the other end is the scammer pretending to be a bank employee who offers to stop the alleged fraud. In reality, the scammer is actually tricking you into sending money to their bank account.
Scammers begin looking for consumers through phone calls, emails, text messages, or even social media messages. They often use spoofed phone numbers or email addresses that appear legitimate, making it seem like they are indeed from a trusted bank. Again, pretty standard scam tactics.
Where the scammer dons their “Pay Yourself” mask is this, says Zelle: “When you enroll with Zelle, your bank sends you a security code to verify your identity. The scammer claims that they need this passcode to authorize your payment to yourself,” the company says.
If you provide the code, then you’re simply handing them the keys to your account. With that passcode, they’ll be able to connect their bank account with Zelle utilizing your email or phone number. “Now the money you thought you were sending to yourself is sent directly to their bank account,” Zelle officials say.
Deputies are searching for three suspects responsible for using distraction techniques to steal wallets and credit cards from shoppers.
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office received two reports between Aug. 21 and Aug. 24 of two elderly women having their wallets stolen while shopping at retail stores.
According to officials, the suspects are believed to be two women and one man.
Deputies said the suspects’ strategy involves starting conversations with their victims, then reaching into their purses to take money when they’re not paying attention.
The thieves would then use that money to shop at other stores.
Anyone with additional information or able to identify the suspects is asked to contact Detective Daniel Gau at Daniel.Gau@manateesheriff.com or by calling 941-747-3001, ext. 2547.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
