BULLOCH COUNTY, Ga. () — A man is behind bars after deputies said he was pretending to be a Bulloch County deputy to try and rip off local businesses.

Authorities said the man was able to scam 15 local businesses for $500 each before someone noticed something wasn’t right and called the sheriff’s office.

“Most common folks would think he was with the sheriff’s office,” said Captain Todd Hutchens with the Criminal Investigations Division of the Bulloch County Sheriff’s Office.

Captain Hutchens told the man was going door to door selling advertisements for a legitimate company’s magazine while wearing a hat or polo that said “sheriff” and calling himself “Deputy Terry Damstra.”

“The majority of the time that that occurs they are trying to reap benefits for themselves,” said Hutchens.

Hutchens said Damstra was getting commission off of each ad sold. He said the company usually partners with law enforcement to put out a local magazine filled with PSA’s and educational information.

“They have multiple salespeople out in different states,” said Hutchens. “They were very upset that the guy had done this because this is not the way they train.”

Damstra is facing 15 felony counts of impersonating an officer – carrying at least a one-year sentence per count.

“The badge means a lot to us,” said Hutchens. “When this info came forth, Sheriff Brown was very concerned, and very disturbed and we immediately went out and that’s why we found him basically within 24 hours.”

Hutchens said after alerting the company, they have agreed to return any money they received through Damstra’s work.

Captain Hutchens encouraged people just moving into town to get familiar with their first responders, so they’ll have someone to turn to if they notice something like this.