Pulaski man charged in connection with paving scam, investigators say
Accused of changing $80 check to $8,000
WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ky. (WTVQ) – A 30-year-old Somerset man has been charged with theft and elderly abuse for his role in trying to scam an elderly Washington County man out of $8,000 in an old-fashioned paving scam.
According to Washington County Sheriff investigators, Travis Beach was charged after investigators tracked down his identity as part of the investigation and picked him up in rural Pulaski County.
“He admitted his involvement in the driveway job and called one of the other suspects on the phone after we told him the victim wants his $8,000 back. The other suspect directed a family member of his to meet us at a local church where they gave us the $8,000 cash back,” Washington County investigators said in a social media post.
The case began Nov. 15 when investigators were contacted by a 75-year-old man with dementia-related issues who was the victim of the scam involving a driveway at a home, according to investigators.
The man was approached by a person who offered to lay asphalt on his rock driveway. The scammer quoted a price of $80 to complete the job. The scammer and four others proceeded to unload their dump truck of ground-up asphalt onto the victim’s driveway, according to the department.
After completion of the job, the victim gave the scammer a check which the scammer then filled out for $8,000 instead of the agreed upon price of $80. The scammer immediately took the check to the bank to cash, investigators said.
By using descriptions of an early model white Chevrolet one-ton truck with a black dump with a galvanized steel top skirt on top of the dump bed and an earlier model Ford pick-up, investigators say they were able to track Beach as a suspect.
