The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

March 21, 2008

Man charged with conning 82-year-old

Deputies say $70,000 SUV purchased in scam

By Amelia A. Pridemore

Raleigh County sheriff’s deputies say a Daniels man conned an 82-year-old woman into buying him a $70,000 SUV.

Steven Mitchell Cox, 30, of Daniels, is charged with obtaining property by false pretenses, according to Deputy J.L. Redden. Cox was taken into custody Thursday and released on $50,000 bond set by Magistrate Charles Humphrey.

Cox took the woman from Daniels to Beckley Auto Mall on Feb. 15, Redden said, and convinced her to sign for a 2008 GMC Yukon. Cox had told her she would simply be co-signing for the vehicle to help him establish credit, Redden said.

Cox also told staff at Beckley Auto Mall the woman was his grandmother and she wanted to buy him a vehicle, Redden said. Neither statement was true. Cox is not related to the woman, who signed and financed the Yukon.

It left the woman more than $70,000 in debt, Redden said.

Cox took the vehicle and all the paperwork, then kept it, Redden said. The woman discovered she had actually purchased the vehicle when she received registration forms from the state Division of Motor Vehicles.

The woman and Cox met through a business transaction when Cox was going door-to-door selling vacuum cleaners, Redden said. Cox also started a home improvement project for the woman that he never finished.

— E-mail:

apridemore@register-herald.com

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