A Florida woman came home from work to find she had been robbed — but it wasn't your usual burglary. Rather than jewels or mail or holiday gifts, someone had stolen her driveway.
"I come home and my driveway is gone," said Amanda Brochu, a single mom who had put her home up for sale but was still living in it. According to WFTV, the "thieves" were contractors who had been "hired" by a man claiming to be the landlord. Smells like some kind of scam, although what the scam is isn't clear. From WFTV:
[H]er son told her people had come by the house to measure the driveway, counting five different contractors in the span of a few days. …
She confronted one of them, who said a man by the name of "Andre" reached out to him to ask about a driveway replacement quote. The contractor said Andre claimed to be the landlord and gave Brochu Andre's phone number.
Text messages supplied by the contractor show Andre received a quote for $7,200 to replace the driveway and agreed to the price. However, Andre said he couldn't meet the contractor to drop off the deposit.
When the now-wary contractor demanded full payment and proof of ownership before starting the job, Andre cut off communication. …
Sanchez posted about the incident to a national Facebook group for realtors. Others began commenting that they've seen similar situations for unwanted exterior work, including paint and driveways.
When officials called Andre about the missing driveway, he claimed he knew nothing about the theft.
"I had multiple people come forward saying that they've seen things like this happen, whether it be driveways, roofs, or painting," [Real Estate Agent] Rocki Sanchez said. "So, it happens more often than we actually see it."
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