Another day, another scammer gets busted in Atlanta!
Sadly, my city has become a breeding ground for frauds and fakers and this story is no exception.
The man above goes by the names Demetrius McCollum, Trey Colston, Trey Watkins, Trey McCain and Treyvone Levette and he was recently arrested after defrauding several women across the country out of nearly a million dollars!!
Demetrius McCollum (his government name) faces several charges after he reportedly scammed at least 30 victims out of their hard earned dough by convincing them that he had access to bid on government vehicles and properties.
An investigation revealed that once McCollum gained the women’s trust and had money in hand, he would make excuses for why the vehicle or land deed was never delivered and/or cut off communications after he’d ran off with the dough!
Details + news footage below…
An Atlanta woman named Christina Nwaokoro says McCullum scammed her out of $21,500.
Nwaokoro told The Clarion-Ledger’s Therese Apel they met in a barbershop. Nwaokoro would sometimes cut his hair and said he was a big tipper.
She said he falsely told her his last name was Watkins and that he worked at a local funeral home.
Madison Mississippi Police Department Investigator Chuck Harrison found that the suspect would also lure women into the scam with him by promising them huge returns on their ‘investment’ and in comparison, Nwaokoro said she knows that’s what he tried to do to her.
She said she did give him $21,500 he hasn’t made good on yet, but that when he tried to get her to involve her friends and acquaintances, she’d say, “let’s wait until mine comes through first.”
VIDEO: Man Accused of Scamming Women Out of Thousands of Dollars
Nwaokoro said while McCollum was telling her about flipping houses or selling government contract vehicles and he wasn’t afraid to bring God into it.
“He would say things about religion, so he can make you feel comfortable with him,” she said. “He could tell I was in doubt, and he said, ‘I need you to pray, this is a miracle, you don?t want to miss your opportunity.'”
About a month after giving McCollum some money to put toward a vehicle and a house, Nwaokoro got a nagging feeling that she had made a mistake.
“I feel like I let my guard down a little too much. I always keep my guard up but I lowered it when he told me to pray. About a month into it I started feeling uncomfortable,” she said. “I haven?t seen my car, haven?t seen the house, and then he wanted a loan.”
That’s when she knew there was a problem.
“He wanted to wipe me out completely. He was saying, ‘If you don?t have the money for this deal, get a loan, you don?t want to miss out,'” she said. “I told him, ‘I?ll just wait for the car and the house,’ then nothing came through.”
Thera Staples Brown said McCollum, who used an entirely different name when was dating her daughter in October, offered to find them a great deal on foreclosed properties.
After gaining their trust, McCollum convinced Brown and her family to give him nearly $24,000 to help them find a home and they never heard another word from him.
“He’s sick,” Brown said. “He’s a predator. He’s sick and has a problem.”
Another woman who didn’t want to be identified, reported that she was scammed out of almost $40,000.
?It hurts, it’s sad,? said the woman, ?no one wants to get scammed.?
Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett isn’t happy to know that his name may have been used to defraud anyone.
The sheriff said Demetrius McCollum was also using the Sheriff’s last name to gain the trust of several victims McCollum defrauded.
?It just irritates me that he is using not only my name, but two or three other peoples’ names and victimizing individuals,? said Sheriff Levett.
The sheriff said McCollum called himself ?Trey Levett,? and spun stories of his connections to both the sheriff and a well-known family in the local funeral business?neither of which is true.
McCollum was booked into the Rockdale County Jail and also faces charges in several other jurisdictions, including Atlanta.
The scammer is still currently featured on the ‘Atlanta Crime-Stoppers’ website, where they also seek his accomplice, Angela Brown.
[Sidebar: Angela Brown was arrested in Mississippi on fraud charges back in October and yes… McCollum was named in that case too.]
The moral of this story? Crime doesn’t pay… but neither does trusting the wrong person with your dough! Buyer beware.