Business owner warns others of paving scam

ELKHART, Ind.  -- A business owner in Elkhart is now warning others about what she calls an attempt to scam her out of $15,000 dollars with a paving scheme.

Kimlee Jones who owns the Body Language Relaxation Spa says she knew she needed to repave her parking lot, but never signed any paperwork saying she wanted any work to be done.

Last Thursday, business owner, Kimlee Jones, came into work at the Body Language Relaxation Spa in Elkhart like it was any other day.

She says around 10:30 a.m. a man came into her business wanting to repave her parking lot.

“Rushed. He seemed like he had a big rush to do something. He said ‘well, I could take care of that for you,’ and I told him, ‘well, I need to know an estimate, I need to know how much this is gonna cost,’” said Jones.

Next thing she knew, the man had returned with 3 others.

“They all left, and left the equipment all day sitting in my parking lot,” said Jones. “I didn’t really know what to think at this point, so what I did was, I went about my routine [and] my work here.”

Jones says that not even an hour later, the man returned to show her what he and his team had done.

“I said, ‘this looks expensive and I didn’t sign on for this.’ And he said, ‘well, just write me a check for $15,000 and we’ll be even.’ And I said, ‘no, I don’t think that that’s how this all works,’” said Jones.

Jones claims that at no point during her whole interaction with this man was there even a vocal agreement of work to be done.

She adds that the man ended up emailing her an invoice, which at first didn’t have any contact information for the business.

ABC 57 News tried to call the man, but only got his voicemail.

“Never was I led to believe that work was going to be done,” said Jones. “In everything I do, I like to get an estimate, and I want to know what I’m going to be paying for.”

Jones says asphalt companies have told her that these scams are pretty common.

“People need not to be afraid. Don’t be afraid,” said Jones. “When you’re in doubt, call the police out. They’ll help you decide whether this is a legitimate person, company, or otherwise, or not.”

The Elkhart Police Department confirms that they were called out to the business on Thursday at around 3:40 p.m. with regards to this incident.

In a statement, Elkhart Police said that the incident was found to be civil, not criminal.

Jones says that police told her the matter would have to be pursued in civil court if the company, or person, wanted to take any further action.