The Floyd County Police Department encourages people to check in on elder relatives to ensure they are not being taken advantage of.
Three men have been charged after scamming an elderly woman out of $118,000 from her life savings, according to Georgia police.
Robert John Criswell, 39, Kyle Dewayne Dover, 28, and Hunter Chase Hammitt, 23, met the 90-year-old woman while working for a local tree company, though they were working not working in their capacity as employees of the company when they allegedly committed the crimes, police said.
Between the months of December to April, investigators allege there were 33 checks written to the three men for various amounts of money.
Only some tree work was completed but in those instances, trees were left in place, brush piles were left on the property and some shutters that were supposed to be hung were “hanging crooked by one screw," the Floyd County Police Department wrote in a statement.
The three men were arrested on Aug. 10 after an investigator followed up on a tip about the alleged scam, according to the statement. Police believe that the men have been living in a remote camp area about 10 minutes away from the 90-year-old woman, which was where they were also arrested.
Criswell and Dover have been charged with exploitation of the elderly and theft by deception, police said. Dover is being held on a $15,000 bond and Criswell was released on Aug. 12 on a $15,000 bond, police told Inside Edition Digital.
Hammitt has been charged with exploitation of the elderly, theft by deception and probation violation and is being held without bond, officials said.
Floyd police said that scams of this sort are not uncommon because “the elderly are sometimes embarrassed by the spending, or they are intimidated by the persistent and aggressive sales technique of scammers.”
The department encouraged people to check in on elder relatives and members of their community to ensure that they are not being taken advantage of.
