Caldwell sending $184K in restitution to scam victims

BATON ROUGE, La. (Legal Newsline) - Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell announced on Friday that his office is hand-delivering $184,000 worth of checks to 18 victims of a driveway asphalting scam.

Last month, Texas residents Billy B. Densmore II and Derrick Johnson were ordered to pay full restitution for defrauding consumers in Louisiana and Texas. The victims of the scam, most of whom are elderly, significantly overpaid for driveway repairs that involved substandard materials and shoddy work. One victim paid as much as $32,500 for second-rate repairs, Caldwell said.

"I am outraged that these crooks preyed on and conned some of our elderly and visually impaired citizens," Caldwell said. "My office remains committed to protecting the state's most vulnerable citizens and will continue to work with law enforcement agencies to pursue and apprehend scam artists and con men."

The scam was uncovered by a team effort between multiple agencies. Densmore was located and arrested in Houston by Caldwell's Fugitive Apprehension Unit, with assistance from Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's Fugitive Unit. Agents seized more than $414,000 in cash from Densmore.

"I sincerely appreciate the top level of cooperation we received from all of the law enforcement agencies that assisted in this investigation," Caldwell said.

Caldwell's Consumer Protection Section and Fugitive Apprehension Unit were assisted by agencies from the Livingston Parish, the Ascension Parish, the St. John's Parish, the Terrebonne Parish, the East Baton Rouge Parish and Abbott's Fugitive Unit.