Eric Lawrence smelled a rat when a door-to-door salesman came to his door Sunday afternoon.
Before Jack A. Brown, 26, of Skiatook, Okla., could get through his spiel, Lawrence, an Iola police lieutenant, was questioning inconsistencies and called on-duty officers to investigate.
The scam’s unraveling occurred quickly because of Lawrence’s astute observations, said Duane Kellerman, a county deputy, in an Allen County Sheriff’s Department news release.
When officers arrived at Lawrence’s residence, they found Brown in possession of several pieces of military regalia, including a “dog tag” he had conned from a veteran, on the pretense it would win him points for a trip or cash prize, Kellerman said.
Brown and several others were selling magazine subscriptions, sometimes asking far in excess of standard rates, he said.
Arrested were Brown, Paul Reed, 19, Tennessee, Matthew Dabling, 25, Kansas City, Kan., and Carl Volk, 31, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Kellerman said all together five males and two females, with assistance from an older handler, were going door to door selling magazines in an alleged contest. They were using “deceptive, high-pressure and enthusiastic tactics,” he said, on the ruse that what they sold would help with college expenses. They also claimed that money from sales would go to help troops or children, he said.
“They were accepting checks, but preferred cash, and weren’t giving receipts that contained information about the company,” Kellerman said.
The parent company is Midwest Circulation LLC, Cameron, Mo. The Better Business Bureau has investigated 57 complaints about the company and on its website gives the company an “F” rating. Also, Kellerman said Midwest Circulation was involved in an investigation in Iola last year in which a check was altered.
“Anyone who thinks they may have been subjected to suspect business practices is urged to contact the Kansas attorney general’s office or the Better Business Bureau at www.bbb.org,” he said.
Receipts, cash and checks were seized from the four people arrested and are at the sheriff’s office in the Allen County Law Enforcement Center. The other four individuals were not arrested.
Kellerman encouraged anyone with a complaint or who wants more information to contact him at the sheriff’s office, 365-1400.
Four arrested in magazine scam
