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GREENSBORO — A paving contractor who has been accused of deceiving elderly residents in the Triad out of thousands of dollars was arrested Wednesday in South Carolina on charges he did the same to three residents and a business there.

Tommy Edward Clack, 38, of North Myrtle Beach, S.C., was arrested in Florence, S.C., on four counts of obtaining property or a signature by false pretense, said Florence police Maj. Carlos Raines.

Clack surrendered to authorities Wednesday morning and was released after posting a $4,000 bond.

Since 2007, Clack has been the subject of multiple complaints to the N.C. Attorney General’s Office.

Elderly residents in the Triad and in the Wilmington area have complained of a high-pressure door-to-door paving scheme in which they were urged to sign high-dollar contracts without the mandatory three-day right to cancel.

According to complaints filed with the Attorney General, Clack repeatedly told victims he had extra asphalt from nearby paving jobs and offered to pave driveways at a “deep discount.”

In actuality, the prices were overinflated by thousands of dollars. Once the resident agreed, work usually would begin within minutes. Victims reported shoddy work and asphalt cracking weeks after the job was completed.

The name of Clack’s paving companies changed repeatedly, from Guilford County Paving here to Horry County Paving or Florence County Asphalt in South Carolina.

Last November, North Carolina authorities obtained a court order requiring Clack to wait four days after a contract is signed to begin any work at customers’ homes, an effort they believed would put him out of business here.

Soon after, reports of him began surfacing in the Myrtle Beach area, followed by reports in the Florence area.

Since Sept. 1, Raines said, Clack has been accused of approaching residents, saying he is related to the owner of a reputable paving business in the area and that he had asphalt left over from a nearby job.

Victims said Clack claimed his company was behind a paving job along U.S. 76 — a major thoroughfare in the area — to gain residents’ trust, Raines said.

“He made (the deal) sound good,” Raines said. “He lied to get a man’s business.”

Victims claimed that they were pressured into signing contracts and that the work began quickly. In each case, the driveways would then crack within days, police said.

One of the victims, a 73-year-old Florence man, said he lost $15,500 on a job he later found out should have cost only $5,000.

“He sold himself to dumb me,” said the man, who asked that his name not be used for fear of retaliation. “He makes it all sound so believable, and he talks to you like you are the best friend.”

Police said Clack was also issued a cease-and-desist order from the S.C. Department of Labor Licensing and Regulation. Clack’s attorney did not return a message seeking comment.

In the Triad, Clack has been accused in paving schemes in Guilford, Forsyth, Rockingham, Randolph and Stokes counties in 2008, according to state records.

He has been convicted of 26 misdemeanors in North Carolina for not adhering to the state’s three-day right-to-cancel law. He has also has been arrested in Florida on charges related to fraudulent practices involving elderly victims.

Contact Ryan Seals at 373-7077 or ryan.seals@news-record.com