Melvin Romeo

PARKERSBURG — Melvin Romeo is facing another charge of scheming after reportedly being known for conning people out of land and money in the Parkersburg area.

Romeo, 43, 801 Pike St., Parkersburg, is now facing several charges including fraudulent schemes, forgery, public schemes, among others, according to Wood County Magistrate Court records.

In November 2018, Romeo went into a rental agreement with a male victim who paid Romeo a $4,000 security deposit and $650 per month for a property on Maple Street, according to a criminal complaint filed with the Wood County Magistrate Court.

Several months prior, the rightful owner of the property on Maple Street, a witness, spoke with the victim and showed him an agreement he had with Romeo, the complaint said.

The witness said the agreement outlined him as the rightful owner of the property and Romeo had defaulted on an agreement; the witness/owner said he was in the process of taking the property back from Romeo, the complaint said.

The victim had been paying Romeo rent totaling $20,000 when the property did not belong to Romeo, the complaint said.

The witness/owner offered to sell the property to the victim but the victim said he could not put up all the money at once, the complaint said, and the owner has since sold the property.

Romeo is being charged with a fraudulent scheme and was being held at North Central Regional Jail on a combined $86,000 cash bond.

Candice Black can be reached at cblack@newsandsentinel.com.