Alleged Scammer Arrested After Bilking East Nashville Nonagenarian Out of Thousands

EAST NASHVILLE, TN — After allegedly scamming an elderly East Nashville woman for $2,800, a woman is behind bars and police are searching for her accomplice.

Jessica Burton was arrested Tuesday and charged with theft of property; police say she and a man convinced 91-year-old Mary Ballinger that they had done roofing work and that Ballinger owed them for the job. In fact, there was no roof work ever done.

According to fraud detectives, Burton cashed a $2,800 check at a Madison bank; the teller questioned her about the veracity of the check and Burton said it was from her grandmother to help pay school tuition.

Burton was arrested in June for a similar crime. In that case, she cashed a $6,500 check at a West Nashville bank for driveway repairs that were never done. The affidavit in the June case, which was bound over to the grand jury, indicates that Burton is a member of a cabal who frequently pulls these types of cons.

"The defendant is involved in a ring/family of scamming elderly on driveways, roofs, etc," the arrest warrant reads.

Burton's male accomplice is still at-large.

Image via Shutterstock.