U.S. Marshals Arrest Fraud Suspect, Joshua Bell, Accused Of Scamming Vietnam Veteran And Arlington Couple
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The U.S. Marshals North Texas Fugitive Task Force arrested fraud suspect Joshua Bell and took him directly to the Dallas County Jail.
The 36-year-old is accused of knocking on a Vietnam Veteran's door offering to repair her roof, accepting $17,000 and running off without fixing a thing.
Bell is also connected to a couple who was scammed out of $1,200 under similar circumstances.
Calling himself "Michael," Bell allegedly lied about working for a reputable roofing company when he showed up at a home in the 300 block of Circle Drive in Arlington. He told the homeowners he was an employee of a roofing company they had actually used in the past -- and that he was there to do some work on their roof before their warranty expired.
But after Bell allegedly took their payment for his "services" something felt off. Thus the couple called the roofing company, who told them they had not sent anyone to their home that day.
When a manager for the company looked at surveillance video captured by the homeowners' RING doorbell, he said he did not recognize Bell, aka "Michael" and said nobody matching his description works for them.
The company also checked out their roof and determined no new work was done.
Surveillance video from the Arlington incident shows a newer model pickup truck that Bell was driving.
We need your help to ID a theft suspect who hasn't been very honest about who he is.
— Arlington Police, TX (@ArlingtonPD) February 12, 2020
The man in this video falsely told a couple that he worked for a roofing company they'd used in the past -- and made off with a check for work he never did.
Visit our FB page for more info. pic.twitter.com/hrHBZNmj7A