SANFORD, Fla. – Sanford police say a driveway ripped up at a woman’s home earlier this year was part of an alleged scam tied to someone in Nigeria - and the homeowner was not the intended victim.
Back in February, Luz Lenzi told News 6 she had someone repair a crack in her driveway. Then, weeks later, she got a call from a colleague with shocking news.
“She said, ‘Luzi, there is a mountain in front of your house and your driveway is gone,” Lenzi recalled.
Lenzi said she never hired anyone to replace her driveway.
“I didn’t hire them. I didn’t need to have my driveway redone,” Lenzi said.
[WATCH: ‘It’s a pile of junk’: Sanford woman returns home to missing driveway]
According to police, someone who claimed to be from a real estate company hired a different contractor to update the driveway. That contractor stopped work after a $15,000 check provided for the job bounced.
Records obtained by News 6 show the check was written from “SOIL Realty LLC,” listed as being in New Mexico.
Sanford police said the contractor did not meet the client in person and did not file a permit for the work.
As part of the investigation, police subpoenaed bank records seeking transactions connected to SOIL Realty LLC and also requested Google records tied to an email address used in the deal.
Police said their investigation led them to internet addresses in Nigeria.
“I said, Nigeria, like in Africa? And he said, yes,” Lenzi said. “I said how? I was shocked.”
It is not exactly clear how the alleged scammer would have ultimately benefited. Investigators said they believe the goal may have been to shake down the contractor for money, and that Lenzi’s home may have been selected because it was on the market.
“I was the loser in the whole thing,” Lenzi said.
Lenzi said the contractor initially refused to fix the driveway, saying the company was also a victim, but she said the contractor is now reimbursing her for repairs.
News 6 called the contractor for comment, but the company declined.