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Police looking for man accused of scamming Pittsburgh couple out of hundreds of dollars

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh police are looking for a man who allegedly scammed a Shadyside family out of hundreds of dollars.

"He told me his mom got killed by a drunk driver and I felt horrible," Shannon Ewing said.

That's the excuse police said Craig Korcan gave to Shannon Ewing and her husband for not building the table and chairs they agreed upon.

According to investigators, the couple had already given him an $850 down payment for the $1,600 project.

"He asked for all of the money and I said, 'There’s no way for doing that.' And I didn’t even feel good about giving him a deposit, but I understand a small contractor has to have some money up front to pay for materials," Frank Ewing said.

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They were supposed to get the table before Christmas, but according to police, Korcan came up with a reason why he couldn't get the furniture to them just yet.

According to court documents, “He gave a story about his mother being killed by a drunk driver. He even texted her a screenshot of an obituary notice," but, “It was not an obituary for his mother, but for Korcan’s grandmother.”

"It was his grandmother and reading through the obituary, she was not killed by a drunk driver, she died peacefully surrounded by loved ones," Frank Ewing said.

Police said it was a ploy to "induce guilt and to delay delivering the furniture."

Channel 11 called Kocran, but he didn't pick up.

The couple wants to warn others about him.

"It’s really sad. It’s really sad. Because why would somebody do that? I feel bad for his mom," Shannon Ewing said.

Korcan has not been arrested yet.