Missouri Attorney General sues contractor for allegedly scamming the elderly

by: Drew Tasset

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has filed a felony complaint against Harlin Dilday Jr. in Morgan County Court for targeting the elderly with his businesses.

Dilday Jr. is charged with financial exploitation of the elderly and deceptive business practices in connection with his business. He owns two home repair businesses in Missouri: D&D Outdoors and Dilday & Sons.

“My office will not tolerate the exploitation of Missouri’s most vulnerable residents,” said Attorney General Bailey in a statement. “We are committed to holding bad actors accountable and protecting Missouri consumers from fraud and abuse.”

According to Bailey, D&D Outdoors allegedly provided unrequested home repair services in febuary 2025. In Versailles, the company offered a homeowner $1,000 for asphalt repair and tree trimming services. After the homeowner accepted, the company then turned around and demanded $15,000 from them.

“We will continue to aggressively prosecute those who target elderly Missourians through deception and intimidation,” said Attorney General Bailey.

The charges in this case are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

To contact the Missouri Attorney General’s Office about potential scams, call the Consumer Protection hotline at 800-392-8222 or submit an online complaint at ago.mo.gov.

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Missouri Attorney General sues contractor for allegedly scamming the elderly 

Two in Marion County charged with financial crimes against the elderly

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Detectives with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department have charged two people with stealing more than $17,000 from a disabled, elderly person.

The complaint originated from Adult Protective Services on March 8 about potentially fraudulent charges shown on an elderly victim’s bank statement.

Detectives were told that Amy Owens, 27, of Fairmont, had the victim’s card and had no permission to use it, but there were transactions from November 2023 to February 2024 that totaled $5,827.50.

During that period, Owens allegedly told the victim the card had been frozen due to fraudulent activity and the account could not be accessed.

While reviewing bank statements from the victim, detectives learned there were several CashApp transactions made to Wesley Burton, 31, of Fairmont. Deputies said the victim cannot move without assistance, and Owens is not listed as the caregiver.

Detectives determined the transactions from September 2023 through the end of February 2024 totaled $17,947.41.

Owens and Burton have been charged with financial exploitation of the elderly.

Both are being held in the North Central Regional Jail.

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Two in Marion County charged with financial crimes against the elderly

Man accused of conning elderly Knox County woman out of $95,000

Dongyi Guo

by John Garlock

KNOX COUNTY, Mo. — A Chinese national from New York City is accused of trying to scam an elderly Knox County woman out of nearly $100,000.

Dongyi Guo, 27, of Flushing, New York, was arrested Thursday by the Knox County Sheriff's Office.

Guo is now charged with three counts of financial exploitation of the elderly.

According to court documents, Guo went to the 79-year-old victim's home four days this week to unlawfully obtain thousands of dollars in cash that he had convinced the woman to withdraw from her bank in Edina.

Law enforcement said Guo stole a total of $95,000.

On Wednesday, the sheriff's office staked out the woman's home and arrested Guo when he arrived.

Investigators found about half of the money in the trunk of Guo's car. The cash was in a black suitcase, concealed inside a Walmart bag.

Authorities are unsure right now where the other half is.

They said Guo originally contacted the woman by email and then began communicating with her over the phone.

Knox County Sheriff Carl Knoche said the defendant posed as the FDIC.

“He convinced the victim that her identity had been compromised and that she needed to retrieve money out of the bank and send it with them in order to save the money, and then, they would return it to her at a later time," Knoche said.

A grandchild of the victim alerted law enforcement that a man was stealing large sums of money from the woman.

The sheriff's office was assisted by the Edina Police Department, Scotland County Sheriff's Office, Missouri State Highway Patrol, Kirksville office of the FBI and the Knox County Prosecutor's Office.

Court documents state that Guo has an extensive criminal history, including identity theft and other crimes involving fraud.

Guo is being held without bond in the Lewis County Jail.

The Edina Sentinel reports that Guo in the U.S. on an employment authorization from the People's Republic of China.

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Man accused of conning elderly Knox County woman out of $95,000

St. Clair Concrete Contractor Facing Charges From Missouri AG's Office For Fraud, Theft

A St. Clair contractor faces multiple charges after he allegedly defrauded five Franklin County customers.

Daniel Carbone, 49, was charged in March with 12 felony counts of deceptive business practice, stealing by deceit and financial exploitation of the elderly.

The charges are in connection with his businesses, Concrete Impressions and All Pro Concrete.

Carbone is being charged by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

According to Attorney General Andrew Bailey, Carbone promised to provide mostly concrete and other exterior remodeling work in exchange for large down payments. The charges allege that after taking these payments from the consumers, Carbone either did minimal work before abandoning the project completely, or did no work at all in spite of being paid by victims in advance to do so. Carbone left consumers with no materials for their payments and refused multiple demands for refunds. The consumers’ aggregate losses total just over $55,000.

The probable cause statement alleges that Carbone “willfully, knowingly and with the intent to defraud” made false promises to several customers.

The Better Business Bureau in November gave Concrete Impressions an “F” rating.

A Florissant woman told BBB she gave Carbone $14,000 in September 2021 to do various jobs, which were never performed.

Carbone was reportedly paid $4,000 in July 2022 to construct a concrete patio for a Eureka woman, another job he didn’t do.

A University City woman paid Carbone $2,866 to replace stairs, which he didn’t do.

BBB said there are two open civil cases against Carbone, one in St. Louis County and another run Franklin County.

In June 2022, BBB reports that he was found in default in Jefferson County and ordered to pay more than $4,000.

Carbone was charged in August 2022 for passing a bad check in Franklin County.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorneys General Don Re and Natalie Warner. Consumers who believe they may have been scammed by a contractor should file a complaint with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office by calling the Consumer Protection hotline at 800-392-8222 or by submitting a complaint online at ago.mo.gov.

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St. Clair Concrete Contractor Facing Charges From Missouri AG's Office For Fraud, Theft

Two Hannibal men allegedly steal money, handgun and more from elderly person

Braden A. Harn and Robert Lee Ledbetter  (Pike Co. Sheriffs office)

By Jayla Louis

PIKE COUNTY, Ill. (WGEM) - Two men were arrested on Sunday after they allegedly stole money, a handgun, watches and other items from a safe at a residence in Barry, Illinois.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office responded at about 7:12 a.m. on Feb. 12 to a house in the 1000 block of Illinois 106.

The resident reported to police that two men came to their house on Feb. 11 to make an agreement for an asphalting job. They wrote a check to the suspects for the job.

On Feb. 12, the suspects came back to the residence requesting the payment be made in cash. When the resident opened a safe to retrieve the cash, the suspects stole a large amount of money, a Smith and Wesson handgun, watches and various other items.

Police said the suspects fled the scene in a white Ford F-150.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Office alerted local law enforcement agencies to be on the lookout for the truck and suspects.

Within minutes of the alert, the Hannibal Police Department found the truck and arrested Robert Lee Ledbetter, 59, of Hannibal, and Braden A. Harn, 20, of Hannibal.

Both men are being held in the Marion County Jail where were charged with residential burglary, financial exploitation of the elderly, robbery, theft between $10,000-$100,000 and unlawful possession of a stolen firearm.

Police said this incident is still under investigation and further charges are pending.

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Two Hannibal men allegedly steal money, handgun and more from elderly person

Ashland pawnbroker indicted for elderly exploitation

Mark C. Paul

A Boone County grand jury on Friday indicted the owner of an Ashland pawn shop for allegedly trying to defraud an elderly man of his property.

Court documents show 68-year-old Mark C. Paul is charged with one count of financial exploitation of the elderly where the property value was $50,000 or more, a class A felony. Paul was booked in the Boone County jail on $100,000 bond, which he has since posted and was released.

According to the indictment, Paul obtained control over the elderly victim’s property over the course of several months from May 2016 to January 2017 through an improper use of power of attorney. The property, the indictment states, was valued at more than $75,000 and the victim was was over the age of 60.

Paul is the listed owner of Trading Post Pawn and Auto Sales in Ashland, according to the Boone County Collector’s website. He appeared in court Monday, waiving formal arraignment and entering a plea of not guilty.

His attorney, Jeffery Hilbrenner of Columbia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Ashland pawnbroker indicted for elderly exploitation