Seven out-of-state men were arrested Saturday on felony fraud and other charges after officers uncovered a scam where the suspects allegedly went door-to-door asking for money donations they said would be used to assemble care packages sent to U.S. soldiers overseas, a Carson City sheriff’s deputy said.
Officers began investigating the men after dispatch received several calls from Carson City residents who said they were asked for money from one of the men and the pitch that was being used didn’t appear to be legitimate, according to the arrest report.
In custody are Cameron Laird, 24, and his brother Trevor Laird, 19, of Bartlesville, Okla., Alexander Devin Cousins, 20, of East Flat Rock, N.C.; Cory James Felasco, 27, of Ashtabula, Ohio; Cortez Johnson, 21, of Glendale, Ariz.; Joshua Roth, 30, of Petals, Miss. and Fary Espinosa, 18, of Houston, Texas.
“The arrests are the result of residents who felt what these men were doing was suspicious and called dispatch because they suspected fraud,” said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong. “For solicitors who don’t show their identification and permits we always urge citizens to please contact the sheriff’s office. The deputies did a good job tracking these guys down.”
According to the arrest report, deputies were given clothing descriptions and located the first suspect, Cameron Laird, in the area of Silver Sage. A deputy made contact and could smell marijuana on the man. The deputy asked if he was going door to door soliciting and Laird confirmed he was. The officer asked him for his solicitor’s permit and company business license. The 24-year-old stated he did not have a solicitor’s permit, a copy of a business license or any form of identification on him, the report states.
Laird advised he works for “Something for Soldiers Sales LLC” and said he was collecting cash or personal checks door-to-door to help send care packages to military personnel overseas. There was no business license or company information on the laminated card he had with him, which did have a customer service line that was not active, the arrest report states.
Cameron Laird stated he was working with a group of other sales people and were currently driving through the area. He stated he only new his boss as “Danni G” and provided a phone number that was also found to be inactive. Due to Laird’s inability to provide any factual business information and his lack of any kind of permit, the deputy placed him into custody.
During an inventory of the Cameron’s belongings, officers located $158 in cash and several personal checks. The deputy asked the man where his friends were. He told them he could find the men in his phone. The deputy called his brother, Trevor Laird, who said he was driving a tan Chevy Suburban and would stop by. A few minutes later the Suburban drove by but did not stop.
A sergeant and deputies made a traffic stop on the vehicle at Silver Sage and Sonoma streets. Officers ran all of the names of the suspects through dispatch and advised Alexander Cousins had a confirmed $100,000 burglary warrant and Trevor Laird had two $50,000 burglary warrants out of Shasta County Superior Court in California. Cortez Johnson had two misdemeanor Clark County warrants. None of the men had a business license or solicitor’s permit.
Cory Felasco identified himself as “handler” for the group, the arrest report states. The deputy read him his Miranda warning and he agreed to speak. He said “Something for Soldiers Sales LLC” goes door to door and asks for money that would be sent to assemble care packages for overseas military personnel, the same story Cameron Laird had told deputies.
He claimed his boss was in Georgia and did not have a way to contact him. He had no business information other than the laminated cards. He told deputies everyone in the group gets to keep 25 percent of all the money collected. He added that they send their money to a generic bank account in Washington State where the he said "care packages" are assembled and sent off. He had no other information about the business.
A deputy spoke with a Carson City deputy district attorney and apprised him of the investigation. After further discussion with, the sheriff’s office arrested all seven men.
Deputies checked the internet for more information related to “Something for Solders Sales LLC.” The first several articles that came up were scam alerts from all over the country advising “Something for Soldiers Sales LLC” was a door-to-door scam.
No company information had been located to confirm if it is a registered, legitimate business, the arrest report states. An article from Brownfield Texas, dated April 16, 2016, stated four of the seven were arrested for soliciting without a license and suspicion of being involved in a door to door scam with other charges pending.
During a K9 sniff of the vehicle, the dog alerted positive. A small amount of marijuana was located in the rear cargo area. All cash was seized from all the subjects. Multiple checks and receipts were also recovered from each subject and documented.
All seven suspects face criminal charges of felony suspicion of fraud, gross misdemeanor conspiracy to commit a crime and misdemeanor soliciting without a permit. Trevor Laird was also arrested on the two Shasta County warrants as was suspect Alexander Cousins. Their bail amounts were each set at $113,274. Cameron Laird also face a misdemeanor possession of less than an ounce of marijuana charge his bail is $14,011. Bail for Felasco, Johnson, Roth, and Espinosa was set at $13,274 each.
Anyone who was a victim of the alleged scam, contact the Carson City Sheriff's Office Investigation Division at (775) 887-2020, option No. 2.