Man Held in Carpet Sales Scam
A 27-year-old Santa Clarita man was arrested for bilking seven San Fernando Valley residents out of $17,000 in a carpet-selling scam, police said Thursday.
James Anthony Cox was being held Thursday on $20,000 bail on seven counts of grand theft, said Lt. Joseph Garcia of the Los Angeles Police Department. Garcia said Cox posted flyers advertising discount carpeting in March.
He allegedly went to the homes of his intended victims, showed them sample carpet swatches and took measurements of their rooms.
Cox took in anywhere from $800 to $6,000 each in down payments and promised to return with the floor cover, Garcia said.
But Garcia said he never came back and didn’t return phone calls.
“In our opinion, it was a straight-out scam,” Garcia said. “All they saw was the little samples, they never saw the actual carpeting.”
Cox made his final sale on Aug. 23, Garcia said, and was arrested that night at a Glendale bowling alley.
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