Man charged in scam arrested

The Perryville, Mo., man charged with scamming a handful of Cape Girardeau businesses out of small amounts of cash was arrested Saturday morning when he was found driving a car that had been reported "unreturned," police said.

Terry L. Zoellner, 38, is being held in lieu of a $10,000 cash-only bond, said Cape Girardeau patrolman Jason Selzer.

Police say Zoellner conned the unsuspecting victims out of $45 to $60 each by phoning the businesses and posing as a visiting fellow professional or a close relative of the business' former owner. He would explain that his car had been towed and he needed a quick loan to get it out of an impound lot, Selzer said.

After victims chose Zoellner's face out of a photo lineup, he was charged with three misdemeanors for stealing by deceit.