Investigation into local man who says he was scammed highlights work-from-home dangers

Roanoke County man reshipped packages for company, is assisting in investigation

ROANOKE COUNTY, Va. – There’s a new warning about a potential scam affecting people across the country, including in the Roanoke Valley.

Roanoke County resident Tommy Lee thought he had gotten a side job. Now he believes it’s clear that it was all a scam.

10 News looked into the company, which claims to hire people to reship packages in work-from-home jobs, and connected Lee with the Better Business Bureau, which is investigating the company

Lee received an email from the company, Logitrade -- which is based in Miami, Florida. He thought the company’s website looked professional.

“There was nothing to make it look like it was a scam. Everything looked so legit,” Lee said.

He talked on the phone with someone claiming to be a manager, then traded messages through a website.

Lee said he reshipped more than 20 packages to locations all over the U.S. over about a two-week period until he became suspicious last month when the company told him to hold on to some of the packages he received

He was expecting to make about $3,500 a month plus expenses. But he never got paid.

The Better Business Bureau tells 10 News it’s received reports from multiple states. Local president Julie Wheeler and her staff said the evidence Lee provided has been helpful the investigation, which is being based out of the bureau in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Wheeler said the activity shows many signs of a scam.

“Reshipping jobs, working from home are not legitimate,” she said.

People, who may be based out of the country, may be trying to move stolen merchandise, according to Wheeler.

10 News called multiple numbers and left messages for the company multiple times over a period of weeks and never heard back.

Eventually, the company stopped contacting Lee.

“I just never heard back from them,” he said.

Many people in the online forums posted that they’ve filed reports with the Miami police, but a department spokesman said it won’t comment on whether there’s an active investigation.

Wheeler said the people doing the reshipping in these cases can face prosecution, and it’s almost always difficult for U.S. law enforcement agencies to prosecute the criminals involved if they’re based overseas.