FORT MILL, S.C. — Andre Bryant said his HOA doesn’t allow commercial vehicles to be parked at his home. But he said no problem.
He told Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke that a Fort Mill business let him park two of his vehicles, a tow truck and a mini school bus, in their lot for the last three or more years.
He said people claiming to be with a charity dropped by when he wasn’t there, towed the vehicles, told the people at the business that he was donating the vehicles, and even left a donation form.
He thinks they were scammers, not tied to any charity, and flat out stole his rides.
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“Things happen every day to people, but I didn’t expect something like this to happen to me,” Bryant explained. “This can happen to anybody. It can happen at any time at this point.”
According to the paperwork, they claimed to be with a nonprofit called “Combined Our Efforts.” Stoogenke found a Facebook page by that name, a group involving vehicle donations based in Arizona.
But he couldn’t find a record of them on the Better Business Bureau’s charity site, Give.org.
That said, he did find the IRS has a record of them but says Combined Our Efforts didn’t file certain paperwork three years in a row.
So the agency revoked its tax-exempt status in 2024, and it’s not clear if the group got it back.
There was a number on the donation papers. Bryant said he called, and that someone picked up. He said he doesn’t know who they are and thinks a lot of their story was a lie, except for one part.
“[He] gave up the location where they took the vehicles, which was here,” he said. Bryant was referring to a north Charlotte lot, City Salvage 1, and believes the people he calls scammers got money.
He said the bus was “crushed immediately,” and that the salvage business told him that. As for his tow truck, he said, “Somebody had cut all the wiring out of the truck. The truck’s not repairable.
He thinks he’s out about $20,000. “It’s crushed me mentally. It’s definitely taken me for a roller coaster because I don’t know where to go from here,” Bryant expressed.
Stoogenke tried to get in touch with the people on the paperwork. No response in time for this report. He also tried to reach Combined Our Efforts three different ways.
No response in time for this report. And he messaged City Salvage 1 through their site. He got an auto-reply showing they got the message, but nothing else in time for this report.
The York County Sheriff’s Office told Action 9 they’re investigating the case.
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