Gibson County elder abuse victim receives full restitution

Thomas Coley entered a plea deal after carrying out a fraud scam against an elder.(Gray News)

By WBBJ Staff

GIBSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WBBJ) - Thomas Coley pled guilty to theft over $10,000 and received a seven month sentence, with the balance of a five-year sentences suspended only upon payment of restitution in full, on July 27 in the Gibson County Circuit Court.

Coley paid the full restitution of $39,600 on the day of his plea and due to the lack of criminal history, he was placed on supervision with State Probation with the additional conditions of completing Cognitive Behavioral Therapy classes and maintaining full-time employment.

In December of 2025, Coley was involved in a fraudulent scam that preyed on a 77-year-old victim from Milan. The suspect pretended to be employed by “Apple Security” and claimed that “Apple Pay” mistakenly deposited $40,000 into her bank account when the amount should have been $400. Coley requested the victim withdraw $39,600 in cash from her account to repay them. Coley gave the victim a false name and retrieved the cash.

Once the victim realized the deposit was fraudulent, she contacted law enforcement. Her residential security video and Milan Police Department’s FLOCK cameras, help locate the suspects vehicle and detain him in Dunwoody, Georgia. The suspect was positively identified by the victim.

“Unfortunately, there has been a proliferation of scammers who prey on elderly victims in our community vulnerable to intimidation by perpetrators who pressure them with false legal action if they don’t comply with their demands. Fortunately, in this case, thanks to the diligent work of the Milan Police Department in retrieving video evidence and tracking that information to another state, this defendant was successfully prosecuted and the victim made whole again financially. Our Office and our Courts ensured that the defendant was not released from incarceration until that happened,” said District Attorney General Frederick H. Agee. 

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Gibson County elder abuse victim receives full restitution