Man accused of targeting older adults in ‘collision scam’ in South Carolina
A South Carolina man accused older people of running into his car — but it was all part of a scheme, officials said.
Cornelius Travis Jones is facing charges after police said he scratched the other cars in a “collision scam.”
The Florence Police Department in a news release didn’t list an attorney for Jones, who turned himself in on Dec. 1.
Five separate times in November, officers said Jones scratched “the side of the elderly victims’ cars as they parked and claimed that they hit his vehicle. He reportedly then extorted money from the victims.”
Police said the incidents happened in the area of West Palmetto Street and David H. McLeod Boulevard, roughly 70 miles northwest of Myrtle Beach.
Jones, a Lake City resident, is charged with five counts each of malicious injury and blackmail/extortion. He was taken to the Florence County jail, police said.
Anyone with information is urged to call police at 843-665-3191 or email jcantey@cityofflorence.com.
This story was originally published December 2, 2021 at 8:29 AM with the headline "Man accused of targeting older adults in ‘collision scam’ in South Carolina."
