Fake hoops league used to scam businesses

Police are searching for a man who has allegedly scammed local businesses out of thousands of dollars in recent weeks by selling them sponsorships to a fictitious adult basketball league.
Authorities say a white male, in his late 30s, weighing about 250 lbs. with brown hair, blue eyes and a brown goatee, has pulled the scam on businesses in Corbin, London, Laurel County and Barbourville.
The setup goes something like this – he promises potential sponsors to the fake league that their name will appear on shirts that will be part of the uniforms for the teams. He obtains a single heat-screened shirt with the appropriate design to show to the business, to appear more credible, and then once he gets a check from the business, cashes it at the bank where the business has an account.
“From talking to one of the victims, he said he’s very convincing,” Corbin Police Capt. Tim Helton said Tuesday. Helton is investigating the case along with several other local police agencies.
Authorities initially got onto the case after management at Lowe’s Sporting Goods stores in London and Corbin reported that a man would come into the stores frequently and buy only one shirt, with cash, with names of various businesses on them. He never placed a larger order.
“I guess they just figured it seemed kind of weird and decided to notify us,” Helton said. “Where there’s smoke there’s usually fire.”
The man told potential sponsors the fictitious league was located somewhere between Barbourville and Pineville. All told, about eight businesses have been scammed in the last month, Helton said, for a total of between $5,000 and $10,000.
“There’s always scams that people try to pull, but this is the first one like this I’ve heard of,” he said. “He’s just a thief … a con artist.”
Surveillance video has captured the man at several locations and provided police with a good picture of his physical description.
Anyone with any information regarding the scam is encouraged to call your local police agency, or Helton at the Corbin Police Department at 528-1122.