If you receive a phone call from a business seeking sponsorship for the high school sports teams, keep your credit card in your wallet and be on the alert.

Newtown High School Athletic Director Matt Memoli said Texas-based Touchdown Sports has been calling Newtown businesses, attempting to scam people, saying they are accepting donations for athletics at the school.

On October 30, Mr Memoli got a call from Tyler Tarantino, owner of Cover Two Sports Café after Mr Tarantino received a phone solicitation from Touchdown Sports.

Touchdown Sports went so far as to use names of Newtown High coaches, saying they had worked with them.

Mr Tarantino was skeptical about it, Mr Memoli said.

Having never heard of the company, Mr Memoli did some research and found an article that detailed Touchdown Sports attempting to scam businesses under a few different names. One of the former company names matched up with one in an e-mail solicitation Mr Memoli found in his e-mail inbox. So the NHS athletic director got on the phone with Touchdown Sports.

“I called them a couple times. The first time I called, the guy who answered knew I was on to them, so he hung up,” Mr Memoli said.

Mr Memoli called back, spoke to another person, and asked the company to stop contacting Newtown businesses.

The Better Business Bureau lists 16 complaints about Touchdown Sports dating back to 2016, the most recent of which was made by Avon-based All Glass Company.

“We were contacted by them to advertise for Avon High School’s basketball program. We have been in business in this town for 46 years but decided we would advertise to help out the basketball team. We have been notified by the school that the advertising will not happen. We are a small business and cannot afford to have our dollars wasted. This company should not be in business!!,” the complaint reads.

Other complaints are for charges for shirts, banners, cups, and other items with names of sponsors to be provided to teams that in some instances were never distributed. There are also complaints about smaller quantities of items delivered than what were ordered and paid for.

Charges or attempts to take payment have ranged from a couple hundred to a few thousand dollars, according to complaints.

Mr Memoli asks that any individuals or businesses who are approached for sponsorship support of the high school contact him at 203-426-7655 to verify that the business is legitimate and working with the high school.