POLK COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- Two suspects accused of scamming an 89-year-old woman are being held in the Polk County Jail.
On Wednesday, investigators say Daniel Cooper forced his way into Marzetta White's house. White said he claimed he was supposed to do work there and asked for $600.
"He said, do you know me? And I said, I don't know you at all and I don't know what you're doing here," White said. "He said, 'well I've been authorized to get on your roof. Your roof is leaking terrible.'"
White says she knew he was lying because her roof is fairly new. She called her son immediately but the suspect grabbed the phone from her and hung it up. Moments later, her son called back.
"He said, mom you call the sheriff's department," she said.
White says Cooper quickly left her house. Deputies showed up within minutes and caught Cooper, and another man, Richard Squires, in the neighborhood.
Deputies say Cooper has an extensive history of scams against the elderly.
"I'm glad I could stop them so they aren't able to do it to anybody else because -- that was scary," she said. "They didn't know they were coming up against a barracuda."
Deputies say they may be able to locate more victims. They retrieved a GPS device from Cooper's car that listed all of the places the two men had recently visited. Investigators say they're not sure yet just how many people may have been scammed.
Information from Central Florida News 13's Bright House Networks affiliate Bay News 9 was used in this report.
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