Johnson City man accused of multiple scams pleads guilty

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July 15th, 2014 10:50 pm by Wes Bunch

GATE CITY A Tennessee man accused of carrying out multiple paving scams in Southwest Virginia pleaded guilty in Scott County court last week to a second felony charge of operating without a contractor's license.

Frank Edward Small, 52, of Johnson City, was indicted by a Scott County grand jury June 23 on a single count of violating Virginia business regulations for the third time in 36 months.

It was the second time since May Small had been indicted on the same charge by a Scott County grand jury.

Small was arraigned in Scott County Circuit Court on July 9 and, in a rare move, pleaded guilty to the felony charge against him during the appearance.

Scott County authorities issued a capias warrant June 11 for Small's arrest stemming from his May indictment for a separate case of operating without a contractor's license. He pleaded guilty to that charge during a June 23 hearing in Scott County.

Small will be sentenced by 30th Circuit Court Judge John Kilgore on both counts on Sept. 4.

The most recent charge against Small stemmed from an incident that reportedly occurred in December 2013.

Scott County authorities said the incident matched other complaints involving Small. Law enforcement said the victim was elderly and never given an exact estimate for the work Small was performing. Once the work was completed, authorities said Small asked for an unreasonable amount of money as compensation for work that was poorly done.

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Johnson City man accused of multiple scams pleads guilty