Police warn of asphalt scam happening across Wisconsin
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A warning tonight from police about a home repair scam -- as the search continues for a guy who dubbed himself the 'asphalt gypsy'.
The scam takes down unsuspecting victims every summer. Fly-by-night companies show up at your door, claiming they'll fix your driveway cheaper than the rest. But in the end, if you want your new black top to look as good as this -- and last -- be cautious of who you hire.
The self-proclaimed 'asphalt gypsy' -- Mico Miller -- is charged in half a dozen Wisconsin counties, and has home addresses listed in Texas, Green Bay and Franklin, Wisconsin. He didn't show up in court and has a bench warrant out for his arrest.
"Sometimes they take the money, go cash it and never show up. Generally, their trucks will be like out-of-state tags," said Detective Kevin Doebereiner with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office.
Jefferson County's Facebook page, warning residents about anyone who shows up unsolicited.
"Sometimes they'll even pressure to get inside of the house to make a phone call or use the bathroom quick. Sometimes it's a pre-emptive thing to maybe doing a theft or a burglary in the future," said Detective Doebereiner.
The asphalt scam's something the Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin sees every summer.
"So, they might have driven by and said hey we were doing some work down the road. We did your neighbor's driveway. We have a little bit of leftover materials. We're happy to give you a great price," said Lisa Schiller, director of investigations with the Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin.
"If you got two or three estimates and two of them are in the same price relatively and then you got one that's say half the price, I'd say that's a big red flag," said Christopher Morawski, general manager of Purpose Contracting Asphalt.
Purpose Contracting Asphalt's been in business for 30 years.
"Today we are laying our binder course here. Yesterday this was all existing asphalt," said Morawski.
An expensive job, but office management at this senior home did their homework, getting multiple offers, something scam artists don't give you time to do.
"Somebody's showing up unsolicited trying to pressure you into doing a quick repair. If they try to make it sound like an emergency if you don't do it quick something bad could happen," said Detective Doebereiner.
"A lot of times the homeowners don't realize that the materials used were very subpar until a few days later because that's when the asphalt properly dries or they have black top and it rains and now the black top has washed away," said Schiller.
The BBB tells homeowners to watch out for out-of-state license plates. Get a business card. Look up the company's name and number, check online reviews and don't pay in full up front.
"If it's something that feels too good to be true it probably is," said Detective Doebereiner.
You can expect to pay about $3.50 to $5 a square foot for asphalt, depending on the size of your driveway.