LIMERICK, Maine — The arrest of a 30-year-old man who advertised cut and split firewood on Craigslist but never delivered the wood needed to heat his customers’ homes has led to additional victims coming forward and possibly more charges, York Sheriff William L. King Jr. said in a Saturday press release.
Justin Nichols of Limerick was arrested Friday night at his home and charged with one count of theft by deception, a Class D crime.
“As a result of the publicity, 11 more victims of the firewood scam came forward,” King said. “More charges are anticipated to be put on Mr. Nichols.”
Those who have paid for firewood from Nichols and who have not yet received their wood delivery can call the sheriff’s office at 324-1113 to file a complaint, the sheriff said.
“Nichols sold firewood to a 58-year-old woman who paid $1,000 for the firewood she was planning to use to heat her home,” King said. “Another victim was a 60-year-old woman who paid $500 for undelivered wood that was also going to be used for heat. Those cases are pending disposition in court.”
When York County Deputy Shawn Sanborn got a similar report last week from a Waterboro man who purchased firewood from a Craigslist vendor under the name “J. Nichols,” the deputy checked Nichol’s record and discovered the two previous arrests by another York County Deputy for the exact same scam, King said.
Nichols also was charged by the Maine Warden Service in November 2010 for filing a false crime report that triggered an intense officer impersonation investigation that lasted a week.
He told the authorities that he had been checked by two game wardens “in a manner that was not consistent with current Maine Warden Service policies and procedures,” according to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife’s website.
Nichols later admitted to Warden Eric Blanchard that the whole story had been fabricated.
Nichols was taken to York County Jail after his Friday arrest and was released that evening on $500 cash bail, a jail official said Saturday.
BDN reporter Dawn Gagnon contributed to this story.