Puxico woman pays more than she owed

By Christy Millweard - bio | email

PUXICO, MO (KFVS) - Puxico Police say elderly woman was the victim of a scam.

"I said well then, ok, go ahead," said Mary Richardson, a Puxico resident.

With those little words, Richardson signed herself up for something she didn't expect.

"I'm mad at myself for being so trusting," said Richardson.

"Yes, it's a scam," said Puxico Police Chief Johnny Clark.

Here's what happened.

Two men volunteered to pave Richardson's driveway.

"They went out there and they worked and worked and worked, and finally they come and they said well we're finished with it," said Richardson.

At that point, Richardson wrote the men a check for $450.00.

One of the men took the check to their truck. Then came back over to Richardson.

"He said I dropped this check in the oil and it's ruined. And he said I told you I'd fire you if you make one more mistake today," said Richardson.

Richardson says she felt bad for the man.

"I said anybody could do that, that could happen to anybody, I said I'll just go in and write you another check," said Richardson. "I went in and I wrote another check out and I put it in an envelope and I said ok now keep this in your pocket, and so they did, they kept both of them in their pocket."

That's right. The two men took both checks, and cashed both of them.

"You know it's my fault I felt so sorry for this young boy I didn't want him to get fired, not have anyway to make a living for him and his wife and baby," said Richardson.

"Of course the victim she's a real sweet little lady and she trusts everybody and they took advantage of that," said Clark.

Clark says Richardson might not be the only one.

"They were definitely targeting the elderly people," said Clark.

He says the proposed the same offer to other elderly people in the area.

"The charge is going to be exploitation of the elderly, which is a serious offense," said Clark.

A serious offense, the Puxico Police hope they can prevent from happening again in the future. The police say if you know anything about the case, to give them a call.

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