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According to the court affidavit, the City of Dunedin had employed Asphalt Paving Company for many years, and all payments had been made through paper checks. On June 13, 2024, an email was sent to multiple city employees from someone they believed to be a company contact, stating that all future payments should be made via ACH (electronic money transfer).
A payment system was then established, and on June 20, 2024, a payment of $663,321.30 was made into the account.
On July 8, 2024, a city employee received a message from the company saying, "FRAUD ALERT...YOU PAID THE WRONG ACCOUNT." The employee followed up with a contact at Asphalt Paving, who confirmed they never made a request to switch to ACH.
Upon investigation, the records showed the ACH transfer went to a company in Utah called Last Call Excavation, LLC. The owner of the company is George Maurice Barlow. Court records showed Barlow previously had a negative balance of -$69.02 before the ACH transfer from Dunedin.
www.abcactionnews.com
A payment system was then established, and on June 20, 2024, a payment of $663,321.30 was made into the account.
On July 8, 2024, a city employee received a message from the company saying, "FRAUD ALERT...YOU PAID THE WRONG ACCOUNT." The employee followed up with a contact at Asphalt Paving, who confirmed they never made a request to switch to ACH.
Upon investigation, the records showed the ACH transfer went to a company in Utah called Last Call Excavation, LLC. The owner of the company is George Maurice Barlow. Court records showed Barlow previously had a negative balance of -$69.02 before the ACH transfer from Dunedin.
Utah man allegedly steals over $600,000 from City of Dunedin
A man from Utah was charged with grand theft after he allegedly stole over $600,000 from the City of Dunedin by pretending to be an asphalt company working with the city.
www.abcactionnews.com
