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Father, Son Accused Of Using Car Repair Scam To Bilk Elderly
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Published: June 17, 2008
James Phillip Holton
James Thomas Holton
ST. PETERSBURG - A father and son were arrested Monday, accused by detectives of running a vehicle repair scam that targeted elderly women, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said.
James Phillip Holton, 46, and James Thomas Holton, 24, were each charged with grand theft, scheming to defraud and six counts of burglary.
The scams, which were committed in Pinellas from May 14 to Monday, involved staged or bogus radiator problems that victims would pay for with cash of personal checks, detectives said.
The first incident was reported May 14 when an 81-year-old woman was told that her car was leaking coolant as she returned to it in the parking lot of the Madeira Beach shopping center.
The woman was shown a puddle of green liquid under her car then charged $175 to replace the radiator fan that she thought was faulty, detectives said. Since then, similar incidents were reported in Madeira Beach, Seminole and South Pasadena.
Because the Holtons did not have any known permanent addresses, detectives conducted surveillance of the places the men were known to frequent. The Holtons were arrested Monday after detectives saw James Holton crawl underneath a purple 1995 Nissan of Rutland Plaza in St. Petersburg, the sheriff's office said.
When the owner returned to her Nissan and started the engine, coolant gushed from beneath the car, detectives said.
Investigators said additional charges may be pending on the Holtons because other victims may not have come forward yet.
Anyone with information is asked to call Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Detective Mitch Reed at (727) 582-6200.
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