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PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A thief is targeting Valley nurseries, allegedly scamming them out of thousands of dollars in ficus trees using stolen credit cards and the same black SUV.
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Three nurseries confirmed they fell victim to the same crook, which starts with a credit card sale over the phone, followed by a pickup in a black SUV and a trailer.
When a customer called AP Nursery in Gilbert to place an order for ficus trees using a credit card over the phone, manager Chris Colvin said they took the opportunity for a sale.
“The economy’s a little rough right now and business is down. So, you know, you’re trying to make sales and trying to make a living,” Colvin said.
Their surveillance video captured what seemed like a typical pickup on June 2. A man in a white T-shirt loaded about 40 ficus trees onto a trailer towed by a black SUV.
It wasn’t until Tuesday that Colvin said they got a notice that the purchase was reversed. The credit card used was stolen. He said their losses total $5,000.
“We’re working hard growing these trees, then you have somebody come in and just take them out from under you. It’s kind of a slap in the face,” Colvin said.
Similar pattern at multiple locations
Arizona Wholesale Growers reported a similar story. General manager Shawn Cox said in late May a man using the alias of a local landscaping company paid for a ficus tree order using a credit card over the phone.
Their cameras captured what looked like the same man, this time in black, picking up the trees and loading them into a trailer. He pulled away with $2,100 worth of product.
“Businesses are already hurting for sales, then stealing money out of your pocket on top of it, is just kind of an insult to injury,” Cox said.
Cox said he’s heard of eight nurseries hit by the same scam so far in the Valley, including Whitfill Nursery in Phoenix.
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“He bought over the phone, and he billed himself as a new landscaper, kind of getting his feet started, trying to get on his feet in the industry,” Matthew Whitfill said.
Although Whitfill didn’t have surveillance video, he recognized the same black SUV.
“A ficus tree like this, without exaggerating, is about like a 10 year, 12 year investment of our time and our water. To get it up to this size and just to be out, that is, it doesn’t feel good,” Whitfill said.
Each of the nurseries filed reports with separate police departments because they fall into different jurisdictions.
The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said the fraud case is waiting to be assigned to a detective.
The theory is that the thieves are either reselling the trees, possibly on Facebook Marketplace, or planting them as part of a long-term job.
Nothing is confirmed yet by police, including the identity of the man caught on surveillance video.
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