SILVER SPRING, Md. – A Riverdale, Md. man has been arrested and charged with theft in a series of scams where he offered help or part-time jobs to vulnerable adults, but asked for cash in return.
Montgomery County Police say Deshaune Terry Johnson, 50, took up to $10,000 from victims in Maryland and D.C., including a woman with Alzheimer’s disease.
Police became aware of Johnson after Edward Jones, a Silver Spring resident, came forward to tell police how Johnson had ripped him off.
Jones, who met Johnson years before at a local Giant grocery store, had been told that Johnson had a possible job opening for Jones to inquire about.
Johnson then told Jones he would be fingerprinted, and he would need a uniform. Johnson said he could help Jones with the job prospect if he fronted him some money.
Jones, who is disabled and lives on a combination of Social Security and money from a part-time job, says the fact that he was being asked for money up front raised some red flags, but he trusted Johnson.
Jones says he now knows his trust was misplaced, and that Johnson made him “feel stupid” to have fallen for the scams.
“I was not about to let someone take advantage of me,” but Jones says Johnson did.
While it wasn’t easy to come foward, Jones believes there are other victims out there.
“This individual victimized our most vulnerable adults,” says Montgomery County Police Officer Sharif Hidayat, who is working the case.
The officer points to another incident Johnson was involved with where he noticed a victim decked out in Washington Redskins gear, and Johnson cooked up a story where he could land that person a job with the team.
“He capitalized on the fact that there are no jobs out there, and offered them (the victims) their dream jobs,” Hidayat says.
Police want to hear from you if you believe you or someone you know was targeted in one of these scams. You can contact Montgomery County Police at the 4th District Office at 240.773-5500.
Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow Kate and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2011 by WTOP. All rights reserved.)
