SUWANEE, Ga. — Last week, Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson told you about a man who was supposed to be helping women in recovery, but was actually stealing from them.
Aaron Hayes, 53, operated what he advertised as a nonprofit called “Wheels N Recovery” out of a mechanic’s bay on Peachtree Industrial Blvd. in Suwanee.
He told potential clients “Your recovery is your credit” on the path to owning a car. Clients would pay him thousands of dollars upfront and then make low monthly payments until the car was paid off. However, police say Hayes never delivered on many of his promises.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
Suwanee police say they now have 22 victims and at least $51,000 in stolen money.
One victim who spoke with Johnson said he met Hayes in 2020 when he sent him $1,200. What he says he got in return was a car that was repossessed within two weeks.
“So I called the police,” the man identified only as Christopher said. “They said that the car had a lien on the vehicle, that whoever gave it to you didn’t have the right to give it to you.”
He says that Hayes still owes him $900, but more than anything, he just wants to warn others.
“If it feels like it’s too good to be true, it most certainly is too good to be true,” Christopher said.
TRENDING STORIES:
- Atlanta woman’s bank account closed after they can’t verify $5k+ student loan refund
- Woman arrested for pouring gasoline, trying to burn down Martin Luther King Jr.’s birth home
- There will be no Peach Drop in Atlanta to ring in 2024
In many cases, victims say they never got a car at all, and police say there may be even more victims.
“If he did it to me, I can totally believe he did it to other people,” Christopher told Johnson.
Hayes is still being held in the Gwinnett County Detention Center, but jail records show he is eligible for bond.
Anyone else who may have dealt with Hayes should call Suwanee police.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2023 Cox Media Group
