NewsChannel 3 viewers take action for woman scammed by phony workers

Norfolk, Va. - A heartbreaking story has a happy ending thanks to our viewers! An elderly woman was scammed out of thousands after she hired men to do work on her house.

When Lynn Defino heard how Mae LaShier was scammed out of $4,500, she took action by writing a big check.

Mae was stunned and had tears in her eyes. She said, "I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe this. Oh my God. Thank you so much.”

“I felt heartbroken because that is horrible that people do that to the elderly,” said Defino.

LaShier said she hired three men to take down her old shed, fix her roof and power wash her home. She said they left with the money and didn’t finish the job. She was unable to reach them.

She filed a complaint with the Norfolk Police Department. They said they are investigating the case.

LaShier was devastated and upset she had been scammed.

The response from the NewsChannel 3 viewers was overwhelming when they heard what happened to her.

Dozens of people called, wrote emails, and reached out on the WTKR Facebook Page wondering how they could help.

“It’s really disgusting. You have to be a real low life, piece of scum to do something like this to an elderly lady, and I just knew that if I could, I needed to do something,” said Von Lester, an off-duty firefighter working for Virginia Pressure Washing, INC.

Virginia Pressure Washing took action and got results for Mae on Friday.

Three off-duty firefighters showed up ready to work.

They took down the shed, hauled away the debris and finished the power washing job.

The owner, Tim Nunez said, "This has been the family business for a while, and most of our business is built on trust and it was the right thing to do.”

“I’ve never had anything like this happene to me before. To have such wonderful people like this,” said LaShier.

Mae said being scammed was a learning experience, and she is extremely grateful to all the people who took action and got results for her.

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NewsChannel 3 viewers take action for woman scammed by phony workers