Gainesville Police and the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office are asking locals to keep an eye out for a recent door-to-door scammer.
According to police, Carisa Dineen-Lewis has been asking Alachua County residents for gas money, claiming it is so she can visit her terminally ill mother in Georgia. However, police said Dineen-Lewis’ mother is not terminally ill and this is a scam.
GPD spokesman Officer Ben Tobias said Dineen-Lewis has been seen in the area of 4400 SW 34th St., 700 SW 16th Ave. and 1600 NW 35th Place.
“Basically all over,” he wrote in an email.
Tobias said there are three documented victims of Dineen-Lewis’ scam with a total loss of $80: $30 from one victim and $50 from another.
“Our recommendation is to not answer the door for anyone you’re not expecting,” Tobias said.
“Unfortunately it’s not ‘like it used to be’ and folks are not always honest.”
Dineen-Lewis was arrested twice in 2008 on criminal traffic charges. In July, she was arrested on charges of false imprisonment and battery on a person 65 years of age or older.
Police filed charges with the State Attorney’s Office and are urging people not to give money to Dineen-Lewis and contact the sheriff’s office if they are targeted.
[A version of this story ran on page 3 on 10/9/2014]
