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WNC hero Jake Jarvis loses $77k in bulldozer scam while aiding Helene recovery efforts

<i>WLOS via CNN Newsource</i><br/>Jake Jarvis
WLOS via CNN Newsource
Jake Jarvis

By Taylor Thompson

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    BAT CAVE, North Carolina (WLOS) — A previously highlighted WNC Hero, Jake Jarvis, who has been pivotal in Helene recovery, was recently scammed out of nearly $80,000.

After Helene ravaged Jarvis’ own home, he dealt with those repairs. He was then inspired to help others in the same situation.

“I started finding other people in need everywhere and they kept asking me for prices and I couldn’t tell them one because I felt so bad for them,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis has owned and operated the construction company Precision Grading for the last 20 years. He felt that so many people needed help, and he had the equipment.

It’s turned into months of free labor that’s still going to this day in the Bat Cave community.

To continue to help with recovery, Jarvis decided to pull from his savings to purchase a bigger bulldozer that he found through Facebook Marketplace.

“It was a good deal it looked like but not to the point where it was too good of a deal, it all looked very legit,” Jarvis said.

He said they researched the company thoroughly, were sent oil samples and looked at a variety of pictures and videos.

Jarvis works 12-hour days and did not want to have to travel to see the bulldozer in person because it was in Texas. He was also worried it would take away from his time in WNC.

Jarvis ultimately decided to wire the seller $77,000 based on what he saw online.

“This is a man hurting, you know just trying to do right,” Jarvis said.

He spent a week tracking the shipment and when it finally said it had arrived on Wednesday he went to his shop, and it was nowhere to be found.

Jarvis said that it’s been really emotional for him, as he doesn’t understand why this would happen to him when he’s only trying to help people.

Jarvis said he’s determined to not let this keep him down.

“I’m not stopping anytime soon, if I have to sell everything I own, to fund this and keep going, I don’t care,” Jarvis said.

Jarvis said that he has learned his lesson and his advice to people is to never buy anything unless you see it in person.

“I’ll never do it again, if I’ve got to fly to Alaska to look at something, I guess I’m going to,” Jarvis said.

Through all of this, Jarvis said that he doesn’t want the focus to be on him. However, his efforts do need funds to help keep the operation going.

“Everything happens for a reason, I don’t know the reason, but we’ll figure it out and we’ll keep going,” Jarvis said.

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