A California homeowner saved his community from further property destruction after uncovering an illegal scam in their neighborhood.

Resident of Marin County they explained the story to them on r/TreeLaw subreddit, revealing that a group of loggers began appearing every few months for cut down the trees on people’s properties without notice or permission. When approached, they even lied about their reasons for cutting down the trees, claiming they were rotting when in fact they were healthy.

“Yesterday they cut down a huge old oak tree on my neighbor’s property. This tree was way up on his lawn and not near any power lines. They claimed the tree was rotted, but we have photographic evidence that it wasn’t,” the homeowner . explicitly. “When my neighbor got home, he was livid. It was the largest tree on his property and the main source of privacy for his entire home.”

Making the scam more worrisome, the workers alleged were affiliated with Pacific Gas & Electric Company and had the company name “Core Tree Cutters”, but no information could be found online to prove the company’s reputation or existence.

The owner of the house asked for advice from other Reddit users about how to stop scammers from terrorizing their neighborhood, and commenters didn’t mince words.

“This is fraud and theft on a large scale!” a user he wrote. “You have stated that these thieves have committed trespassing, vandalism and theft of property (trees) countless times and yet you still want them not to come back?!? The lumber from the neighbor’s tree alone has netted them several thousand dollars and zero repercussions, they see your area as easy pickings and until they are arrested and prosecuted, they are right.”

“Don’t talk to the crew that shows up. You’ll just end up alerting them,” another user suggested. “Call the police and tell them you have a group of people in the area cutting down trees and stealing wood and you talked to your neighbors and none of them have tree removal contracts and you called PG&E and they said they don’t have contracted crews in the area to clear easements.”

In an updatethe original poster thanked the commenters for their advice and said they had confirmed with PG&E that no crews or contractors had been dispatched to their neighborhood in over a year. PG&E opened an internal investigation into the case, and the homeowner informed his neighbors about the illegal scam and said he would call the police the next time he saw the crew now that he had proof they were shading. business.

Trees play an essential role in purifying our air from harmful carbon pollution, providing shade that helps slow the ongoing warming of the planet, and supporting wildlife habitats to create a healthy ecosystem. Illegal cutting of trees it can have significant consequences, as demonstrated by one man who faced it a fine of $1,000 per tree after cutting down 32 mature trees on a neighbor’s property.

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If you find yourself in a situation where there were trees cut without your consentit is important to take appropriate steps to determine whether legal action is necessary. If so, an attorney with knowledge of tree law would be your best bet to get the result you want.

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