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WEDNESDAY • MARCH 23, 2022
Law enforcement warns elderly fraud hard to prove, prosecute By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
An elderly Sugar Land woman recently received a visit from an aggressive salesperson – one who convinced her she had a rat infestation and had her sign an $8,000 contract before he left. Now, the woman’s son is wondering what the difference between aggressive sales tactics and outright fraud is? And how does law enforcement decide what cases to pursue, and which belong in civil courts? The answer, according to local law enforcement and prosecutors, is complicated. But one thing is clear – cases of elder fraud are on the rise across the county and nation, but victims are often reticent to report it and data on the scope of the issue is scant, they agreed. “This is a really difficult conversation to have,” said John Brewer, the chief of the economic crimes division for the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office. “Because you want us to speculate on what is and is not criminal, when in reality it is very factdriven.” Nationally, it appears cases of fraud against the elderly are on a rapid rise in recent years. Of the $4.1 billion stolen through online scams in 2020, about 28 percent came from people over the age of 60, according to FBI data. The number of victims per year has also grown from less than 60,000 in 2015 up to more than 100,000 in 2020, according to FBI data. “I think unfortunately within the community, elder abuse and fraud overall is not all that well-known,” said Leslie Morton, a member of the mental health unit with the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office. “It’s not clear how often it happens, because a lot of cases don’t get reported to the police. And I do think there’s underreporting.” Sugar Land police officer Lauren Stockholm has given talks in nursing homes and other community organizations in recent years, trying to emphasize the importance of being wary of scams, especially online and phone scams, she said. “The reason older communities are targeted is because they’re from a generation that tends to be polite,” she said. “They answer the phone when someone calls, when most millennials won’t.” The police department hasn’t worked that many cases of elder fraud in recent years, Stockholm said, but she agreed with prosecutors that some
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Fort Bend / Southwest • Volume 46 • No. 31
City Manager Jackson unveils new-look Missouri City By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
City Manager Charles “Tink” Jackson hasn’t even been in the Missouri City job long enough to receive a 90-day assessment, but already things are starting to look a little different at city hall.
New communications director Tara Powdrill Crain began work just last week, the newest of several administrative hires Jackson has made since arriving on the job in December. Crain will be joined by two additional hires by next week, Jackson said. “Half of our leadership team is here, and
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Jackson
the other half will arrive next week,” Jackson said. “We have lots of great ideas between us. People are going to start noticing new programs
and things that we are doing.” After several years of tumult inside the city administration and a city council often making decisions in tight 4-3 votes, Mayor Robin Elackatt is hopeful that Missouri City gov-
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21st century space Big changes coming to Sugar Land Town Square By Matt deGrood MDEGROOD@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
The sounds of an excavator moving and workers shoveling dirt break up what is otherwise a quiet weekday afternoon at Sugar Land Town Square. Walking along the development’s streets, it’s hard not to notice all the construction, from the big sections marked off with tape to the mounds of dirt. As businesses begin to emerge from the worst of the pandemic shutdowns, developers at Sugar Land Town Square, business owners and new businesses have begun pouring millions of dollars into the upscale Fort Bend County shopping destination. The goal is to keep the location competitive in a retail arena that has changed dramatically in recent years, according to Matt Ragan, the director of retail programming and operations for Rebees, a Dallas-based real estate company that handles development on much of Sugar Land Town Square. “We definitely want to keep some retail there,” Ragan said. “But we ultimately want Sugar Land Town Square to be a 21st century version of a social, political and commercial hub of Sugar Land. Sugar Land Town Square isn’t just a shopping area. It’s also the social and political and culture epicenter of the community.” The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated what was already a nationwide shift in retail sales, with more shoppers switching to e-commerce sites. In-person sales declined by as much as 45 percent at times during the pandemic, according to a RetailDive analysis. Ever since Rebees took over as one of the major retail developers at the site in late 2019, the company began work on overhauling the
Construction crews were at work last week on a beautification project at Sugar Land Town Square, an upscale shopping destination that is being updated. (Photo by Matt deGrood)
site to better reflect what shoppers might look like in the future, Ragan said. That includes a multi-milliondollar landscape overhaul to the western half of the development, providing more shade and greenery to encourage people to walk through Sugar Land Town Square, he said. Ragan declined to give specific
dollar amounts, but added that some restaurants and businesses have also spent millions to upgrade their facilities and increase outdoor seating. The Rouxpour Restaurant & Bar, for instance, inked a $75,000 agreement with the city of Sugar Land to almost double the restaurant’s outdoor seating capacity, up to about 130 outdoor seats, ac-
cording to company owners. “We’re working with tenants to help them create new, modern storefronts,” Ragan said. “You’re seeing those pop up. Perry’s Steakhouse just finished theirs.” Over the next year, Rebees expects about 12 additional store-
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Gritty Broncos soccer riding high entering postseason By Landan Kuhlmann LKUHLMANN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Bush High School boys soccer coach Gabriel Martinez-Gracida knows his team’s style might not be the most aesthetically pleasing to watch play out. However, he said it doesn’t have to look pleasing to the eye – it just needs to be effective. “Winning by one goal doesn’t necessarily mean the game was close – it means we came out to counter-attack or defend,” Mar-
tinez-Gracida said. “High school soccer is not about how pretty you look, it’s about winning.” Martinez-Gracida’s squad has done a lot of winning this season. The Broncos went 13-5-2 during their recently-completed regular season, including a 10-3-1 record in District 20-6A to capture the program’s first district championship since 2015, according to archives on the UIL website. Bush will face Katy Taylor in
SEE BRONCOS PAGE 7
The Bush High School boys soccer team enters postseason play on the heels of its first district title since 2015. (Contributed photo)
JERRY FLOWERS
Real Estate Agent, MBA, CNE, ABE Army Veteran (RET) • 832-702-5241 Jerry@dreamhomesbyjerry.com
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