Man Accused of Scamming Elderly in Gwinnett

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A man already sitting in the Cherokee County jail for allegedly scamming an elderly victim for services on a stair-lift chair that never happened will face similar charges in Gwinnett County.

Samuel Mark Ellis, 58, of Dawsonville, is accused of theft by deception and exploitation of an elder person in connection with the alleged scheme that could involve incidents in several metro counties, police said in a news release.

Gwinnett Police say a Peachtree Corners man reported Ellis scammed him out of $750 as a down payment on the installation of a lift chair at his mother’s home on Fitzpatrick Way in 2014. The total cost of the installation was to be $1,500.

• RELATED: Man Installed Lift Chairs, Charged Customers For False Recall Repairs

The chair was supposed to be installed a few days after the down payment was made, but the work never happened, Ellis never ordered equipment for the job and he stopped communicating with the man, police said.

After seeing media reports that Ellis had been arrested in Cherokee County, the man called Gwinnett Police on June 29.

Investigators determined there to be two other victims in Gwinnett County. The disabled victims were 63 and 64 years old, police said.

In Gwinnett, Ellis has been charged with three counts of conversion of payments for real property and two counts of exploitation of disabled adult/elder person -- both are felonies.

Cherokee County authorities said Ellis at one time legitimately installed stair lift chairs in homes all over the metro area. In Cherokee, he was arrested last month after he allegedly charged a former customer for a bogus recall repair. Police there charged he contacted an Acworth woman who had a chair installed five years ago and told her a part was recalled and she needed to pay $345 to get it fixed. He told her the manufacturer would reimburse the money, which was false.

Cherokee authorities also said there was evidence that there are possible victims in Gwinnett, Cherokee, Cobb and DeKalb counties.

If you believed you have been victimized by Ellis in Gwinnett County, contact Detective Huth at 770-513-5389 or GCPD detectives at 770-513-5300.

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Photo: Samuel Mark Ellis. Credit: Cherokee Sheriff’s Office