$17 Scammer Still At Work

Police are still tracking the $17 Scammer. A man has been operating in Tulsa for a couple of months now using the same sad story to get people to give him money. The News On 6's crime reporter Lori Fullbright reports the man apparently started working his scam in Tulsa back in November. And, he's still running the scam. The man is still claiming he needs to pay Triple-A to fix his wife's flat tire and is still asking for $17. Here's the kicker, even if police find him, they cannot arrest him.

Gary and Trish Robison are fed up with the $17 Scammer. They say he's come to their house three times, always claiming to be their neighbor, always with the same tale of woe.

"He told me his wife worked at the hospital and had a blow out and drove it on the tire and tore up the wheel. Triple A was here. They were going to fix it, but, he was short $17, they wouldn't take a check," said Tulsan Trish Robison.

The first two times, they simply told him no. Then, they saw the story The News On 6 did with a gentleman in November, who said yes to the man's story and regretted it instantly because he realized the man wasn't going to pay him back as promised. So, the third time the man came back, they were ready.

"I told him saw the story about you. He says, that's not me, that's not me and he took off, gone," said Tulsan Gary Robison.

They got the tag number off his silver Ford Taurus and called police. The plate is out of state, possibly Idaho. They also plan to put out the story in their neighborhood newsletter to warn others because they're afraid he's not going to stop and the situation may get worse.

"I'm just afraid he's going to get more aggressive. Because the last time, I felt real uncomfortable, he was more walking towards the door," said Tulsan Trish Robison.

The Robisons spend all their money on medications since Gary's heart transplant last year and they know others also have tight budgets and they'd hate to see anyone give hard-earned cash to a liar.

The man suspected in the scam is in his 30's with sandy brown hair, about five-feet-eight with a pock-marked face.

At least a dozen people have reported him to police and probably a lot more gave him money and didn't report it. The trouble is he's not breaking the law, so he can't be arrested. He's asking people for money and they're giving it to them, willingly, even if he isn't telling the truth about why he needs it.

The best thing to do is put him out of business by not giving him any money.