Staff Writer

A man accused of stealing a piece of heavy equipment Sunday from a church renovation site faces additional charges in unrelated cases.

William Lee Martin, 27, of 418 Pineneedle Road has been charged by the Union County Sheriff's Office with two counts of financial transaction card theft, grand larceny and second-degree burglary.

Martin is accused of taking $2,400 from a house on 1765 Tinker Creek Road on April 16. A report said Martin had been hired to paint the house and took the money from a dresser drawer.

He also is accused of taking bank cards belonging to acquaintances and using them without authorization in May of 2007.

Martin was charged Sunday by the Union Public Safety Department with grand larceny. His arrest warrant said Martin took a Caterpillar 247 multi-terrain skid steer loader from 620 Lakeside Drive, where Lakeside Drive Baptist Church is being remodeled. The machinery is worth $25,000.

Officers followed muddy tracks left by the vehicle and found it where a witness said Martin had parked it.

Martin admitted to taking the equipment and said he wanted to use it to do work.

Flim-flam attempt

A 72-year-old Union man didn't get taken in by a flim-flam mail offer.

The victim told Sgt. Jimmy Johnson with the sheriff's office that he received a letter from a Moss Mutual Finance Inc. saying that he had been chosen as a "company mystery shopper." The letter contained a check for $3,675 and an assignment to spend a certain portion of the check at Wal-Mart and Sears, keep $414 for himself as payment and obtain a moneygram for the remaining sum. Then, he was to contact a customer service representative for details.

The man recognized the letter as a flim-flam attempt and notified the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Howard Wells said he hopes others will recognize that similar offers are bogus.

"It's the same thing we have warned people about over and over," he said. "It always requires some action on your part, sending money. It turns out that the money you have worked for, your good money, is gone and what you receive is bad money."

Wells said the offer the man received originated in Ontario. Scamers know it is nearly impossible to prosecute a person in another country for a money scheme crime.

"Tear these offers up and put them in the trash can where they belong," he said.