A Houston man, 46-year-old James Eric Barnes, has been slapped with charges for engaging in organized criminal activity after allegedly orchestrating a scheme to swipe nearly half a million dollars' worth of backup power generators. According to Harris County Precinct One Constable Alan Rosen, Barnes is accused of using stolen credit-card numbers to purchase the generators from various Texas-based companies, then flipping them for cash through Facebook Marketplace listings. In a statement obtained by FOX26 Houston, Rosen informed that this scam started small in 2023 and snowballed into a significant organized crime operation.
Over the span of a year, an estimated two generators were sold weekly, and Barnes reportedly advertised these deeply discounted generators using fake names and photos to dupe naive purchasers. Barnes and his accomplices managed to victimize over 30 companies, resulting in a cumulative loss exceeding $470,000 since 2023, as reported by the Afram News. As the investigation continues, investigators expect to press charges against additional suspects linked with Barnes' activities.
Digging deeper into the scam, Precinct One deputies seized 10 new boxed generators from a storage shed, halting the trade of emergency equipment that has grown vital for residents facing the unpredictable wrath of extreme weather like freezes and hurricanes. According to court records cited by Afram News, Barnes did not restrict his illicit activities to generators alone; he is also suspected of unlawfully acquiring and reselling rideable lawnmowers under multiple fictitious identities such as John Hoover and Michael Martin, among others.
Aside from the financial damages inflicted on businesses, the ruse also preyed on individuals seeking to secure their homes against potential disasters. Rosen emphasizes the inherent risk in deals that seem excessively favorable, remarking, "Remember, if a deal seems too good to be true, that is because it is too good to be true,” as per a report by Afram News. Constable Rosen has urged anyone who may have fallen prey to Barnes' deceitful sales to reach out to Precinct One at 713-755-7628. If convicted, Barnes could face a sentence up to life in prison.
