Car repair scammer released from jail; targeting seniors again

RENTON, Wash. — Police are asking for your help to find a man who they say is targeting and scamming seniors. Some have disabilities.

Prosecutors say 27-year-old Georgio Christopher Stevens seeks out vulnerable victims, damages their cars, then offers to repair it for a small fee. That’s when he steals debit card information and drains their bank accounts.

Prosecutors say he’s scammed at least a dozen seniors so far this year in Bellevue, Tukwila and largely in Renton. The latest victim was scammed on July 4, Renton police said.

The string of scams started this January in Bellevue’s Factoria neighborhood, when Bellevue police say Stevens targeted a 91-year-old woman.

“I was just a perfect victim,” said Frances Lee, who said she wanted to share her story to help warn others.

Lee said she was coming out of a BECU when she was stopped by Stevens.

“He said he was with AAA, a fixer for AAA,” Lee said. She said he told her that her bumper was damaged.

“When I wouldn’t believe him, he pulled it out with his fingers, about a foot or so and let it flap,” Frances said.

Investigators say while victims are away from their cars– it’s actually Stevens who causes the damage by removing the pins out of the wheel well.

Then court documents say Francis offered to Lee that he would do the simple fix for her on the spot for free – he just needed to run her debit card to pay for a small part at Walmart.

“He was the nicest sweetest person, I kept thinking this is just incredible. He was there with his wife, he was going to pick up their children and on and on. And she was so smooth, she kept me busy while he is running through the stores stealing money,” Lee said.

“Everything about him I thought, he can’t be. He can’t be faking,” Frances said.

Photos from court documents even shows Stevens using Frances’ card at the BECU ATM.

Investigators say he also went on a shopping spree at Target and Walmart, stealing more than $2,000 from her.

Since then, he’s racked up a dozen more victims – all seniors, mostly women.

Nine of the cases happened in Renton. Police say he uses basically the same scam every time.

“He is deliberately choosing the people who are obviously going to be the most easily victimized. He’s just a predator,” said Renton Police Commander David Leibman.

Stevens was actually arrested in March – but then released by a judge in May to undergo substance abuse treatment. He got an extension in June but then failed to appear in court and has been missing ever since.

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s office says they objected to Stevens’ release.

“Substance abuse disorder treatment is very important, but we have to take into account the number of victims and the likelihood someone won’t come back to court, which is what happened here,” said spokesperson Casey McNerthney. “There’s a reason why we objected to his release and it’s concerning that he was released.”

Now Renton police are asking for your help to find the Stevens and spread the word about this scam.

“It’s very, very frustrating,” Leibman said. “It’s frustrating from a professional standpoint but we are sons and daughters of elderly folks as well and to have those kinds of folks targeted makes us very angry,” he said.

Frances has some advice for you too.

“Follow your gut feeling because I had all kinds of red flags that were going off but I thought I was being silly, because I’m a trusting person,” she said.

Police believe there are more victims who have not reported their cases. They urge anyone else who thinks they were scammed to come forward.

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