Father and son caught re-selling rented equipment on Facebook: Sheriff

IREDELL COUNTY, N.C. ( QUEEN CITY NEWS ) — A father and son are charged after they rented construction equipment and re-sold it on Facebook Marketplace, according to the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office.

According to a report, on June 6, 2024, 26-year-old Noah Daniel Garrett and 63-year-old Virgil Jackson Garrett, of Garrett and Son’s Constructions, rented an excavator valued at more than $100,000. They allegedly did not return it by the agreed-upon date and efforts to contact them were unsuccessful, officials said.

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Detectives found that the excavator had a GPS tracker device, which showed its location in Northern Iredell County. After responding to the location and finding the excavator, detectives learned that the person in possession of it bought it through Facebook Marketplace from the Garretts for $38,000 in cash.

Further investigation revealed that the two men rented more equipment from the same rental company with the intention of defrauding other victims in a similar way, officials said. So far, four other pieces of machinery have been recovered by surrounding law enforcement agencies and those cases are still under investigation.

Authorities say both Noah and Virgil Garrett have been booked into the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office for:

• Felony obtaining property by false pretenses
• Felony conspiracy to obtain property by false pretenses
• Felony conversion by bailee

Noah was arrested on Sept. 9 and booked under a $70,000 secured bond; Virgil was arrested on Sept. 11 and was denied bond.

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