Tommy Clack in court
/ Tonya Brown
Tommy Clack pleaded guilty to one count of obtaining goods under false pretenses and three counts of swindling Monday in a Florence County courtroom.
In 2009, Clack swindled four people in Florence County out of $90,000. He did the paving work, but it was not to the standard he and the customers had agreed. Prosecutors brought in a civil engineer who said the work was shoddy at best.
Clack's attorney, Hank Anderson, said this matter should have been civil not criminal because there were signed contracts in each case.
Circuit Judge William Seals disagreed and sentenced Clack to five years probation.
If he violates any terms of his probation, he'll face up to 10 years in prison.
Prosecutors say Clack is wanted out of Maryland on a fugitive warrant.
Authorities there are expected to pick him up later this week.
He has been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $80,500.
We've learned the North Carolina Attorney General's Office has a joint task force of state and federal investigators looking into Clack on various federal charges that could land him in jail for a long time. We're told the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is also involved in the investigation.
Clack is also expected to be in court Wednesday in Dillon.
Two weeks ago, police there ticketed Clack more than $1,000 for paving there without a business license.
Officers say he tried to scam an elderly woman out of $23,000 for paving her driveway.
