Man charged after scamming church

Man charged after scamming church

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in Public Safety

Wednesday, April 15. 2009

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A man claiming to be a U.S. soldier returning from duty was charged by the Commerce Police Department last week with theft by deception for soliciting cash from local churches.

Police say James Michael Waldby, 43, of Hendersonville, NC, told local church officials that he had just “flown in from Heathrow” and needed money for gasoline to get to Ft. Bragg, NC. A local church gave him a voucher good for $10 worth of gas from a convenience store.

When Waldby, decided to try his luck at another church, the clerk became suspicious and used an online search to determine that Waldby was actually a fugitive from North Carolina. She called the police.

When officers found him at Presto’s convenience store, Waldby told them he’d been staying with an aunt and uncle in Pendergrass, but could not tell police their names, address or telephone number.

He also had $103 in cash at the time he was arrested.

Police charged Waldby with theft by deception and driving with a suspended license, but the Jackson County Jail refused to take Waldby in because he claimed to have and untreatable staph infection.

The police then took him to the Flying J travel plaza on Maysville Road and released him.

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#1 Joe Christmas on 04/17/09 at 11:56 AM [Reply]

This is one of the more interesting ways to get out of going to jail declare you have a staph infection. As for the charges he asked the church for money and the church gave it to him. No real crime there, he lied about his situation but if that was a crime most people would be in jail. I still can't help but wonder what the Flying J did to deserve this outstanding citizen dumped on their doorstep.

#1.1 Commerce Church Secretary on 04/17/09 at 09:28 PM [Reply]

No, it is actually a crime. You can lie about your situation all you want, but you cannot do so to obtain any charitable assistance. Sadly, we see several of these folks on a regular basis who are making a living by scamming churches and other charities with fraudulent sob stories. We work hard to help families in need, more so given the current economy. It is very frustrating to have to deal with people who are dishonest and taking away from what little financial resources we have. This particular guy was posing as a wounded Iraq vet and has been on the run for at least 8 months...who knows how many churches he has conned along the way? There are members of the Commerce community who really stuck their necks out and went above and beyond to get this guy apprehended only to have him con CPD as well! I am usually supportive of CPD, but they dropped the ball on this one. I guess if I'm ever in trouble with the law, I now know what to say to keep myself out of jail.

#1.1.1 colbertcitizen on 05/03/09 at 07:35 PM [Reply]

true. what he did was wrong, but it's no worse than some people selling their foodstamps in the line at the grocery store in front of everyone. or lying to get assistance from the county or state. if we called the law everytime that happened they would never leave the grocery store!

#1.1.1.1 jackson on 05/05/09 at 07:37 AM [Reply]

And what does your comment have to do with anything?
Get a job and get off food stamps!

#1.1.1.1.1 colbertcitizen on 05/05/09 at 09:57 AM [Reply]

my comment is that people scam in all kinds of ways including committing fraud in other ways. and FYI i have a job and do not get foodstamps, did i hit a nerve are you one of those scammers?

#1.1.1.1.1.1 JACKSON on 05/06/09 at 12:28 PM [Reply]

Understanding by your name colbertcitizen being you are
from Madison County the heart of scammers and liars
you would tend to know more about scamming than us from
Jackson County

#1.2 Unbelivable on 04/20/09 at 08:33 AM [Reply]

If this person had such a problem and the cops just turned
him loose and put him out at at truck stop, they only
endangered everyone else this CON will come in contact
with. I thought the police were to serve the public
not put them in danger? So this CON will go around
taking money and not pay for his crime? All this was
telling the world its okay to steal if you have a good
enough reason at the end you won't get in trouble!
Why did they not get this person medical attention?
Now this person won't have to answer to his crime nor
have a crimnal record! what is the future of this world
coming to?

#2 anon on 04/19/09 at 11:55 AM [Reply]

Commerce Church Secretary:

I understand your frustration, but you need to contact the Jackson County jail and speak to them about their policies. The CPD had no other option when they are told that they can't take the prisoner to jail. This is not the first time something like this has happened, and yes, it is very frustrating.

#2.1 Upset! on 04/20/09 at 08:40 AM [Reply]

Have they not heard of going above the sheriff's office?
This person has a suspended license and is a thief and
that's okay to drive around on our roads and steal from
people while he is driving with suspended license? Not to
mention he can't remember is aunt and uncles names's.
And to disgrace our miltary in such a manner should be
enough to throw him under the jail! What a coward and what
a sad thing to know how well we are not protected.

How safe I feel...

#2.2 anonymous on 04/28/09 at 07:41 PM [Reply]

actually it is the commerce police departments responsibility to make sure the man got medical treatment. they should have taken the man to the medical center to get the man medically cleared in order for jackson county to house him. if jackson county had allowed the man to enter the jail unchecked they would be held responsible for the contraction of the disease to the other inmates. it was cpd that placed the public in danger not the jackson county jail because it was their inmate.

#3 David Poston on 04/20/09 at 09:13 AM [Reply]

This truly is sad for those who legitimately need help. As a local pastor myself, I frequently see people who are in need of our church's help. For the honest ones, stories like this really discourage churches from helping. You never know if the story you're being told is legitimate or not. Fortunately, the Bible is pretty clear on how to handle the situation. Whether or not the CPD/Jackson CTY could appropriately punish this man, I believe God has that ability!

#3.1 Don Hill on 04/22/09 at 10:44 AM [Reply]

Well put! I seem to recall one servant of Elisha who scammed someone. God handled that one VERY well. Keep on preaching the WORD, brother!

#4 Anonymous on 04/20/09 at 02:55 PM [Reply]

This man is lost. Yes, he lied about why he needed money. I still don't think that's any reason to turn your back on him as a church. He needed help and although he was not honest in asking for it, you never know what his real story is. I'm sure he is still hungry now that he was dumped off at a local gas station to fend for himself with no money, transportation, or food. I will not immediately jump to the conclusion that he was a drug addict. Maybe he has a mental illness and needs care in addition to antibiotics. Nonetheless he was injured, and regardless how it happened, he was left abandoned by those who pledged to protect.

#4.1 Trying to get the story straight... on 04/21/09 at 10:02 AM [Reply]

Oh yes, poor man. Perhaps this will enlighten you a bit... Check out

Go to Google and type in "James Waldby" and "fugitive" and read the news stories from NC about this man. No one knows what his real story is because almost everything that came out of his mount was a LIE!

No one "turned their back on him" All he wanted was money and he was mad that the church that did help him would only give him a $100.

#4.1.1 Trying to get the story straight... on 04/21/09 at 10:57 AM [Reply]

Just wanted to correct myself- The church that helped him gave him $10, not $100. Sorry about the typo. I certainly don't want to create and unwarranted uproar.

#4.2 The Other Church Secretary on 04/22/09 at 10:16 AM [Reply]

James Michael Waldby was offered food to take with him. He was even invited to eat lunch at the church as part of the Lenten Lunch gathering. HE REFUSED BOTH INVITATIONS. Google his name and see if you still have the same opinion. He is a fugitive for domestic violence and failing to pay child support. In other words, he doesn't care who he hurts physically or emotionally.

#5 Anon on 04/20/09 at 03:25 PM [Reply]

He had $103 cash-he didn't need any help. If he did need help he should have just told his true situation and I'm sure someone would help. He's probably just a lazy man who gets by on the hard work of others and relies on other people "helping" him.

#6 another anonymous on 04/20/09 at 05:46 PM [Reply]

For all of you blaming this on the police, you need to check into who is in charge of the jail. There is no going over the sheriff about who they take into their jail. It is completely up to the sheriff and his jailers who comes into the jail and no one else. All though I do agree that it is not right just to dump the man out but the sheriff did not give them much of a choice. Had you rather the police take him to a hospital? Then you would be whining that the taxpayers have to pay his medical bill. Everyone is so quick to jump on the police but they have you have no idea what it is like to be in their shoes. Sometimes the hands of the police are tied and there isnt anything they can do about certain situations. How do you think it would feel to have someone second guessing everything you did at your job without having any knowledge of what it entails? Maybe if some of you would help support your officers then maybe more things could be accomplished.

#6.1 Kay on 04/30/09 at 01:57 PM [Reply]

I understand what you're saying. I worked at a hospital in a neighboring county for several years, and it was quite a common occurence(almost daily)there for people who had just gotten arrested to visit. Most of the time it was because the person arrested claimed to have some sort of medical problem; in very few cases was this true. The person would be checked out by an MD in the E.R & most likely either cleared(not sick)& got back in the police officer's car, or admitted(sick). I'm not sure if the policies on these types of things differ from county to county, so I really can't say; but I would like to find out. Thank you! Oh, and staph infection? Untreatable? MRSA? I hope not as that can be airborne...

#6.1.1 Anonymous on 05/03/09 at 09:35 AM [Reply]

What a difference a two weeks can make-
I wonder how people would be reacting if this man had claimed to have swine flu!

#7 Anonymous on 05/11/09 at 07:11 PM [Reply]

this guy is a fugitive and they let him loose just because he says he has a staph infection, guess if I ever get in trouble I am going to just say I have a staph infection or MRSA.

#7.1 Kay on 05/13/09 at 08:39 PM [Reply]

Except for when you & I say we have it, #7 Anonymous, the police officers will be more than happy to take us to the nearest hospital to be tested. They'll need adequate proof in the event that we are lying. Afterall, you never can tell with thugs like us.....lol(just joking in case you can't tell)!

#8 The Other Church Secretary/the VICTIM on 06/12/09 at 09:19 AM [Reply]

I received a letter today from the Solicitor's Office informing me that James Michael Waldby didn't show up for court on June 5. I wonder why -- he's a con man. A sinner!

He scammed everyone -- me-representing the church, the police, and now the court.

I do hope and pray that he will find God and accept Jesus as his Saviour and make amends for all he's done. What he has done to his family is so much worse than the $18 in gas he deceived the church into paying for. My heart goes out to his children and his siblings.

#9 Jean on 07/13/09 at 11:10 AM [Reply]

Does anyone here know what kind of vehicle this James Waldby was driving? I had imagined him on foot originally, but now I think it's safe to say he was driving a vehicle since he was also charged with 'driving with a suspended license' according to this article.

#10 Weeds in the Garden on 05/30/10 at 01:05 AM [Reply]

Sadly, Church Fraud is a very real concern, with potential risk from the outside as well as within. There are simple steps to increase the security of your churches finances but it is difficult to know where to start. I recently found out about a Christian Accounting firm that offers online tools and support for churches. They have some excellent resources as well as an online questionnaire that will determine whether your church is at risk. Their service is called Weeds in the Garden.

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Man charged after scamming church

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