NEED TO KNOW
Luz Lenzi says she returned to her Sanford, Fla., home to find her driveway had been ripped up, despite never hiring anyone to replace it
Sanford police say someone posing as a real estate company representative hired a contractor using a $15,000 check that later bounced
Investigators say the alleged scam led to internet addresses in Nigeria and believe the contractor—not the homeowner—was the intended target
A Florida woman says she returned home earlier this year to find her driveway had been torn out and hauled away as part of an alleged scam that Sanford police say they traced to internet addresses in Nigeria.
According to local news station NDTV and News 6, homeowner Luz Lenzi never hired anyone to replace the driveway at her Sanford home. Police said someone posing as a representative of a real estate company hired a contractor to redo the driveway using a $15,000 check that later bounced.
“I didn’t hire them. I didn’t need to have my driveway redone,” Lenzi told News 6.
Police said the work stopped after the check bounced. Records obtained by the outlet showed the check was issued by a company called SOIL Realty LLC, which was listed in New Mexico.
According to Sanford police and News 6, investigators subpoenaed bank records connected to the company and obtained Google records tied to an email address used during the transaction. Police said those records ultimately led investigators to internet addresses in Nigeria.
“I said, Nigeria, like in Africa? And he said, yes,” Lenzi told News 6. “I said how? I was shocked.”
Police said the contractor never met the purported client in person and did not obtain a permit before beginning the work.
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Sanford police believe Lenzi was not the intended target of the alleged scam, according to the department and News 6. Instead, police said they believe the scheme may have been intended to defraud the contractor, though investigators said it remains unclear exactly how the scammer ultimately planned to profit. Police also believe Lenzi’s home may have been selected because it was listed for sale.
Lenzi first discovered the damage after a colleague called to tell her there was “a mountain” in front of her house and that the driveway was gone, News 6 previously reported.
“I was the loser in the whole thing,” Lenzi told the outlet.
According to News 6, the contractor initially declined to pay for repairs, saying the company had also been victimized. Lenzi later said the contractor agreed to reimburse her for the cost of fixing the driveway.
The Sanford Police Department told News 6 the case remains under investigation.
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