LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Metro Police say he was paid thousands of dollars for home repair work that he never even started. Police say Thomas Reinhart targeted senior citizens in south Louisville.
"My mind wasn't working right that day. 'Cause if it had been, I would have went in there and got my gun," says Early McFarland, scam victim.
If McFarland sounds a little angry, it's because he was swindled out of thousands of dollars.
McFarland says, "Had a truck sitting out here with two other guys and two little half barrels of stuff sitting on the back of the truck."
Last month, McFarland says Reinhart showed up at his home in the River Oaks mobile home park in south Louisville. He says Reinhart told him his roof needed to be repaired.
"He said it needed to be resealed." Right away, McFarland suspected something wasn't right...especially when he heard the price. "He said, '45, you know,' and I said, '45 dollars?' He said no! '4-thousand and five hundred.' I said, 'Well heck, that's more than this whole damn trailer is worth,' pardon my language."
And before any work was done, McFarland reluctantly wrote a check. He says, "Didn't want to write that kind of money...for an idiot like him."
McFarland says he was having second thoughts, but also concerned for his safety.
"I stopped writing on the check. He said: Why'd you stop? and he was leaning over my shoulder and I didn't know what he had in mind. A guy like that'll cut your throat or anything else," says McFarland.
Metro police say McFarland is not the only victim.
"What we feel is that there have been at least four victims; this may have started around April of this year," says Dwight Mitchell, LMPD Spokesperson.
And based on interviews with McFarland and other victims, police suspect there's even more to the story. Mitchell says,"It obviously could be more victims and again, we are still investigating the aspect of whether this individual was working with other people."
Right now, Reinhart is in custody in Wood County, Ohio but has also been indicted by a Jefferson County grand jury. McFarland says,"I'm glad; I hope he rots there."
Thomas Reinhart is scheduled to be arraigned here in metro Louisville on Monday.
Meanwhile, anyone with information about other victims or the suspect should call the anonymous police tip line at 574-lmpd.
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