Jackson spoke about ongoing recovery efforts and discussed his agency’s duty to protect individuals and businesses from scammers.
ASHEVILLE, N.C. — Attorney General Jeff Jackson visited the historic Biltmore Village in Asheville to mark six months since Hurricane Helene‘s devastation in western North Carolina.
Jackson toured the area, which was hit hard by Helene in September. He also spoke about ongoing recovery efforts while meeting with local business owners and residents in the Asheville area.
“The amount of debris removal that has occurred is truly remarkable,” Jackson said. “What the small business owners are telling me is they’re now starting to get shipments of some pretty expensive equipment that they need to rebuild. They want to make sure that they can do that safely, that they don’t have to worry about looters or anybody coming in and stealing their stuff.”
Jackson said it’s important for the state’s Justice Department to have a presence in the area to ensure officials are supporting the rebuilding businesses and protecting them from criminals. He said his office has seen an uptick in text scams claiming to be FEMA. He also addressed reports of contractor scams.
“We’ve already heard some reports of people who are being quoted prices that are clearly unfair and just contracting fraud that’s occurring,” Jackson said.
The attorney general also reminded business owners to stay vigilant of scammers, saying if something feels a little wrong, it probably is.
