CHANDLER, Ariz. — Chandler police are still looking for a suspect who allegedly scammed an elderly woman earlier this year by tricking her into paying for car repairs that he failed to perform.
On May 23, the victim reported a man coming to her door claiming to be an American Automobile Association employee. The man allegedly told her that her vehicle had sustained some damage and needed one of its tires fixed.
Police say the man offered to fix the victim's car for $3,700. The woman agreed to drive with the man to the bank and withdraw the money in cash. The suspect then took the money and performed no work on the vehicle.
By reviewing video surveillance captured at the bank, Chandler police were able to identify the suspect as Joe Miller, who may go by several other aliases.
“It seems like this is his trademark move of obviously targeting elderly individuals that are vulnerable and susceptible to falling for this sort of scheme,” said Chandler Police Detective Eva Zermeño.
Miller has five prior felony convictions, including pleading guilty to fraud in 2007, court records show.
He was sentenced to 9.25 years in prison for defrauding two elderly Phoenix women out of $6,600 where he also pretended to be a Triple AAA employee trying to fix their cars.
Two years before that crime, Miller “clearly confesses his life’s work is scamming elderly people” during a 31-minute video interview with San Francisco Police Department Fraud Unit, who also investigated him, police records show.
Miller allegedly told investigators that to “take less than $10,000 a day is pocket change after a day of conducting ‘the shuffle’ on elderly victims,” records show.
During that same 2005 video interview, detectives noted Miller explained in detail how he worked with “the same crew for 10-15 years in elaborate scams targeting the elderly, stealing tens of thousands a day, primarily conducting fake car repairs and some home repair scams.”
Miller apparently showed no remorse or likelihood of ever stopping, records show.
“He is a known member of an ethnic transient criminal group that has been historically linked to this type of criminal scam behavior which primarily targets the elderly,” court documents showed. “Targeted the elderly for his prior felony convictions and continued with the same scams as soon as he got out of custody.”
In a statement to 12News, AAA Arizona said it is aware of the incident and can’t comment any further.
“We can assure AAA members that their safety and the safety of everyone in our community is our priority. We will only come to your home or requested location if you have requested service. Additionally, employees will be able to provide identifiable information to Members."
Anyone with information on Miller's whereabouts can contact 480-782-4130. Information that leads to the suspect's location maybe be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
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