Man Sought for Fraud

At least 21 victims

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By Lauren Maxwell
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Story Created: Dec 22, 2011 at 8:52 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Dec 22, 2011 at 8:52 AM AKDT

A man police call a big time scammer is on the run tonight.

Police are on the lookout for a man who they say bilked people out of thousands of dollars.

So far at least 21 people have come forward to say that Kyle Dwiggins took their money and left them high and dry.

According to police, he owes more than $130,000. Often he posed as a handyman, but he also rented out an apartment he claimed to own to several different people.

It seemed legit when Nick Soule found the apartment for rent on Craigslist. He liked the way it sounded. “It had a huge yard, a nice big driveway with a garage,” Soule said. And when he went to see it in person he liked it even more.

Soule says the Jewel Lake duplex was a perfect fit and the perfect price. A day later he gave the landlord $1,600 in cash and packed up his family to move in.

“I had the car all packed up and the kids and clothes and then I talked the owner and he said Kyle had packed up and wasn’t heard from again,” Soule said.

Police say this man Kyle Dwiggins collected thousands of dollars, not just from Soule, but from several other people he tried to rent to as well. He didn’t own the place, but he did live there and was about to be evicted for non-payment of rent.

Police looking into the case say there were other scams, where Dwiggins took thousands up front for work as a handyman but never finished the job.

A check of court records shows plenty of charges for theft and fraud, that anyone could have found with some checking. But Nick Soule says that never occurred to him when he signed the lease.

Of course there are a lot of people who would like to see Kyle Dwiggins go to jail, but police are still looking for him tonight. They are asking anyone who may know where Dwiggins is to call them, or if you’ve been a victim to call them as well.

And police say people who provide information that leads to an arrest could be eligible for a Crimestoppers reward.

 

 

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