After a Pearl businessman was arrested last week and accused of selling generators that never got there, one family affected by the scam told us their story.
Rusty and Cindy Hampton were looking into getting a Generac generator when calling the national number led them to Generator Power Solutions in Pearl. The frustrating, erratic weather in Mississippi made it seem like a good idea, while it was also a costly investment.
Rusty said he bought a 22 kilowatt generator on August 8, 2022, and at that point was told the installation would come in October.
When October arrived, Rusty called Generator Power Solutions and got the first of a string of excuses he would hear over the next seven months.
Jason Frost, the owner, never seemed available to talk, and the receptionist would always assure the Hamptons that their generator was on the way. In 10 months, Frost never returned a phone call, Rusty said.
On April 5, the Hamptons filed a dispute with Synchrony Bank, which financed their purchase. Synchrony denied the dispute on June 5, so Rusty filed a complaint with the Pearl Police.
While the Hamptons and others like them were scrambling, trying to get their money back or get their generator installed, photos began being passed around of cars and trucks and boats and a camper, all belonging to Frost. Those who shared them say they wondered where that money was coming from if nobody was actually getting a generator.
The recent rounds of storms that have left people in the heat and the dark with no power for days especially rubbed it in to the Hamptons as well as investigators that there are several people who should have had generators that they had paid for to battle the damage from the storm.
Some of Frost’s alleged victims riding out the storm without a generator they paid for are reportedly even in their 80s.
Hampton’s complaint helped lead to Frost’s arrest, but there have been similar complaints with stories that matched from all over the Metro area. Generator Power Solutions sells generators statewide, so it could be a much bigger field of victims, authorities said Friday.
“I hate it has come to this but he brought it upon himself. Just install the generators or give folks their money back,” Hampton said. “It’s not right what he did to a lot of folks. He needs to be held accountable for what he has done to so many people.”
Investigator Fred Lovett said the case came to the attention of RCSO when a victim reported that he had ordered a Generac Generator in 2021 and still had not received it. He said there are more victims to talk to and additional charges are pending.
