A Texas man who raised close to $6,000 in an online campaign to repair his damaged truck, was arrested this Friday for perpetrating a fraud.
Scott Lattin, 45, was charged with making a false report claiming that his truck was vandalized by #BlackLivesMatter protesters, when he was the one who had actually done the vandalizing. Lattin denied the charges in a comment to KDFW-TV, but reportedly admitted to police that he damaged his truck for insurance reasons.
He was arrested at his home in Whitney, Texas.
Lattin first told Whitney police on Sept. 8 that someone spray-painted “Black Lives Matter” and other slogans on his truck because he was displaying pro-police messages.
Whitney Police Chief Chris Bentley described the incident as “very disturbing.”
Bentley said the investigation turned to Lattin because after seeing a local news report on the story.
“We had initial video when the officers took the report and then when we saw [the news story]. When we looked at those two videos, there were some differences in those and that led us to take the investigation into a different direction,” Bentley said.
“We have so many groups that have participated and come to Whitney, Texas of all places to help these people,” Bentley added. “And for them to have been deceived? It’s just wrong.”
Watch KDFW’s report on the story in the video below:
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