Man Admits Gatlinburg Rental Scam
A man who admitted telling Gatlinburg vacation cabin owners the National Park Service would pay the bills has entered a plea bargain in federal court.
James T. Bell admitted at a court hearing Tuesday that he posed as a federal employee to get a total of 10 days of rental in August 2011.
The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/yWuyke ) cited court records in reporting Bell showed up at one property in a white pickup truck with a magnetic placard reading “National Park Service.”
Bell told all three owners he needed the cabins for donors to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
He was found out when one of the owners contacted the Park Service about paying the bill.
Bell will be sentenced June 25.
