By TRICIA NEAL, CJ Staff Writer
Commonwealth Journal
Somerset —
If you’ve recently made a donation, thinking you were helping supply books to hospitalized children, you may be the victim of a scam — and you’re not alone. Authorities are trying to determine just how many victims six men and one woman left in their path after spending several weeks in the Pulaski County area. Sean L. Arnold and Reese Lynn Yates — the same pair arrested earlier this month after they were caught breaking in to vehicles in the parking lot of Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital — have admitted to knocking on doors of homes “pretending to be aspiring college students raising money to further their education by selling books or taking donations for books which would be given or delivered to children’s hospitals,” the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department says. Arnold masterminded the scam, and even purchased a business license at the Pulaski County Clerk’s Office, calling his business “Academic Training Program.” The license, though, was only used to further the scam, authorities say. Arnold told authorities he has ties with five suspects recently arrested in Fayette County for their involvement in a similar scam. Justin Davidson, Anthony Lackman, Henry Siegman, Tyler Smith, and Jeremy Albertson were operating in Lexington under the name “Academic Marketing Group.” Arnold claims the five men were working with him in Pulaski County before they moved on to Fayette County. The sheriff’s department says arrests are still pending in the case “because the scope of the scam has not been determined and all the victims have not been identified.” If you made a donation or purchased books from Academic Training Program or Academic Marketing Group, please contact the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department at (606) 678-5145.