Cottage Grove man accused of swindling elderly with snow removal scam
Erickson was arrested Wednesday and was being held Thursday at the
The alleged scam extended beyond
Erickson is accused of bilking his victims out of more than
A Twitter account belonging to "MN Snow Angels" features a picture of Erickson next to a Toys for Tots box filled with gifts. The company's profile says that it protects "the elderly and vulnerable from slips, falls and fraud; providing the best residential snow service to all Minnesotans!"
The business was registered with
In 2016, Erickson mounted a campaign for
Complaints led to action
In February,
The BBB received 20 complaints about Snow Angels by mid-February; as of Thursday, 25 complaints appeared on its website.
Customers who tried to contact Erickson to get the promised service or a refund didn't receive a response, and neither did the BBB. Addresses listed for Snow Angels in all three states turned out to be
Erickson, who followed through with some jobs in
"We see a lot of situations where complaints pile up, the company or individual behind the issues disappears or just fades away and that's that," Hendrickson said in an e-mail. "So to have a case like this, where interagency cooperation and the hard work of law enforcement leads to an arrest -- it's terrific to see."
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