Pair from Ireland Living in Hingham Charged in Weymouth Pavement Scam

From the Weymouth Police Department:

Our Community Outreach Unit recently took a report from an 86-year-old female resident of Weymouth who was scammed out of several thousand dollars in a driveway paving scam. The suspects went to the elderly female’s door and using high-pressure tactics, conned the elderly female into having work done on her driveway and stated that she would only be charged a few hundred dollars. The suspects then did very minimal work without having signed a contract and demanded several thousand dollars from the elderly female. She reluctantly paid thousands of dollars after being pressured by the suspects.

On Tuesday, the Community Outreach Unit assisted by detectives were able to lure the suspects to an address in Weymouth under the guise of having driveway paving done. Upon their arrival, the two suspects were questioned and arrested.

The suspects are identified as Tom Murphy, age 19, and Patrick Connors, age 19, who both reported they were living at the Wompatuck Campgrounds in Hingham and had been in the United States for a few months from Ireland. Tom Murphy was charged with larceny over $250 by false pretenses, conspiracy to commit a crime, unlicensed operation, and motor vehicle violations. Patrick Connors was charged with larceny over $250 by false pretenses, larceny over $250 from a person over 60, and conspiracy to commit a crime. Both suspects were held without bail overnight and brought to Quincy District Court this morning for arraignment.

We want to take this opportunity to remind everyone that these scams are happening. Paving scams like this occur regularly in Massachusetts. The perpetrators target senior citizens and use high-pressure sales tactics to try to take their money.

Please beware of unsolicited offers to do paving work. Do not let the solicitors inside your home. Calmly but firmly tell the solicitors you are not interested and tell them to leave your property. If they refuse, call the police. Call the police immediately if they begin working without your consent for service.

Photo Credit: Weymouth Police