Leavenworth County Attorney Todd Thompson Tuesday began warning northeast Kansas residents to be aware of possible scams on asphalt projects involving companies going door-to-door in the county.

“When these companies appear on your doorstep, you do not have to do business with them,” Thompson said. “You are more aware of what your home needs than a stranger.”

A Missouri man, Jerry A. Sawyer, entered a plea in connection with a 2010 Douglas County case in which prosecutors initially accused him of scamming $8,000 out of a Douglas County couple for work on a driveway that was not worth that much. According to court records, Sawyer pleaded guilty in 2011 to misdemeanor theft and agreed to pay costs and an $800 fine in the case.

Thompson on Friday encourage residents to check a company’s Better Business Bureau ranking before they pay for work because he said in the 2010 Douglas County case Sawyer’s Buckner, Mo., company, Alan’s Asphalt, received an F.

Thompson said anyone who suspects they have been scammed can contact local authorities or the Kansas Attorney General’s Office’s consumer protection division at 1-800-432-2310 or 785-296-3751.

More information is also available at www.ksag.org.