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| Tarmon, Jr. |
Frederick Lee Tarmon, Sr., 47, of West King Street, Martinsburg, was charged with two felony counts of fraudulent schemes, two counts of conspiracy to commit fraudulent schemes, one count of financial exploitation of elderly and one count of conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of elderly.
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| Tarmon |
Frederick Lee Tarmon, Jr., 25, of Cider Lane, Ranson, was charged with felony financial exploitation of elderly, conspiracy to commit financial exploitation of elderly, fraudulent schemes and conspiracy to commit fraudulent schemes.
According to court documents, the Tarmons, further known as Tarmon and Son Complete Handyman Services LLC, have been allegedly conducting contracted services in and around Charles Town since at least May despite a permanent civil junction suspending their West Virginia license.
On the afternoon of June 20, Cpl. M.D. Gillmore with the Charles Town detachment of the West Virginia State Police received a possible fraud complaint from an 87-year-old victim, court records said.
The victim said things began on or about May 28 when a male, alleged to be Tarmon Jr., came to her home to inquire about doing work for her, according to court records. She first allowed him to fix a “small” leak coming from a faucet.
“(She) stated he seemed like a very trustworthy young man,” the complaint said.
When returning to do the work, Tarmon Jr. brought Tarmon Sr., who he alleged to be his older brother, court records said.
After fixing the faucet, Tarmon Jr. allegedly said he was afraid the leak may have caused further damage to the floor and asked to check the basement ceiling. When he did, he allegedly observed severe damage.
“She stated she was scared because he made it sound like the floor was going to fall apart and agreed to have him return to fix the floor,” the complaint said.
On May 30, the men allegedly returned to the victim’s home, replaced some boards in the floor and sealed basement walls due to leaks, court records said. While at the home this day, Tarmon Jr. stated he saw a squirrel going into her (attic) and was afraid it may be damaging her ceiling and chewing on wires.
On May 31, Tarmon Sr. allegedly told the victim that the squirrels chewed on her wires which could cause a fire if it wasn’t fixed, records said. Scared of a fire, the victim said she allowed them to do the work.
According to court documents, on June 3, the men returned and informed the victim they discovered a missing bill and that she owed them another $714.75. The victim told police she paid them because she was “scared about what they might do if she refused.”
Court documents allege the victim paid the Tarmon’s $3,262.75 in total.
The victim told police she became wary about it all after speaking with her mail carrier about the work completed, court records said. The carrier allegedly was familiar with another fraud case in which a Frederick Lee Tarmon was a suspect. She was able to identify the men from photos in a newspaper article.
Trooper Gillmore went to the victim’s home to investigate the alleged work done, according to court records. In the basement, the trooper observed approximately three 2-foot-by-4-foot pieces of wood “crudely” nailed to the sides of the floor joists. He also observed several smear marks of a black roofers cement on the walls but no water damage signs.
Gillmore said in the complaint that the victim was charged $1,273 for this project, but the materials only cost around $13 at Home Depot. Gillmore said he was unable to observe any evidence of anything done to the victim’s attic. She was charged $1,314.75 for this alleged work.
When arrested for these allegations, Tarmon Jr. had already been arrested for similar charges stemming from the Charles Town Police Department, police said.
The victim in the city police’s investigation said in December, she was visiting a friend when Tarmon Jr. was working the residence’s roof, according to court records. Tarmon Jr. allegedly provided his contact information to the individual who advised she had some light contracting services.
The victim provided police with a contract dated Dec. 29 for $1,475 worth of work to facia boards on the roof, court records said. She was allegedly requested to make the check payable to “Lee Tarmon.” She also alleged she was never provided receipts for purchased materials.
On Dec. 31, Tarmon Jr. allegedly advised a flashing around the chimney also needed replaced and the victim wrote out a check for the work for $650, court records said. The complaint notes that at this time still no work had been completed. On Jan. 1, Tarmon Jr. alleged the soffits and T channels needed completely replaced for $1,500.
On Jan. 4 the Tarmons and other individuals, records said, “finally” began the work they were contracted to do. However, no city or state contracting license had been attained. The victim then advised work halted for approximately two weeks, and she did not receive any returned phone calls when inquiring about the work. Work allegedly began again after the victim left a voicemail stating she had called the police.
During this time frame, the complaint said, the victim allegedly received a text message from someone who knows Tarmon Jr. advised her to be careful because they were not to be doing any work and to “be careful what you pay them.”
Throughout January and the beginning of February, the Tarmons continued to ask the victim for cost of labor and for additional materials which were allegedly needed, court records said. The complaint lists approximately $5,000 in payments to the Tarmons.
On July 19, Detective A.J. Meeks with the Charles Town Police Department said in the complaint that she met the victim along with a city inspector and a general contractor at her residence to observe the work. It was advised by the contractor, in his opinion, that things were not properly installed, wrong materials were used in some instances and it appeared old materials were used in some instances.
On July 23, Tarmon Jr. was arrested on a warrant and consented to an interview with police, court records said.
“Tarmon Jr. advised he grew up working contracting jobs with his father, Tarmon Sr., and his dad taught him to seek work from the elderly because they are the ones who normally require more work on their residences, and they always pay what is charged,” the complaint said.
Meeks said in a complaint that since she was aware of other similar allegations in the past, she contacted a State’s Attorney General Investigator to inform him of these recent cases. Meeks also noted the December 2017 civil injunction prevented the defendants from indefinitely conducting any and all contracting services in the state of West Virginia.
Tarmon Jr. allegedly told police he was unaware of the injunction against the company, court records said. He also told police the previous charges against him were dismissed, and his father was on probation. Finally, he allegedly admitted to some of the allegations against them.
According to a previous Journal article, Tarmon Sr. pleaded guilty in December 2017 to felony obtaining money by false pretenses involving more than $38,000 of home improvement that he was paid for but did not complete for seven consumers in the Eastern Panhandle.
In this case, as well, he had solicited contracting work under two business names — Tarmon and Sons as well as Complete Handyman Service, according to court records. The fraud charges involve business transactions that took place in 2015.
Tarmon Jr. is incarcerated in the Eastern Regional Jail in lieu of bonds totaling $77,500, according to jail records. Tarmon Sr. is incarcerated in lieu of bonds totaling $100,600. He is also being held on a probation violation.
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Father and son again charged with fraudulent schemes, financial exploitation
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