Latin Lotto Scam
Latin Lotto Scam Con Artists Arrested
04/02/04 - California - ( SFGate.com ) San
Jose police have arrested a pair of alleged con artists who may
be part of a rash of lottery scams that have singled out Latinos
in the South Bay and on the Peninsula.
Officers arrested Ruth Burgos-Rivera, 44, and Carlos Serrano,
25, both of Miami Beach, Fla., in East San Jose on Monday morning
after receiving a call from a woman who told police the pair were
trying to obtain money from her elderly father, police said.
Detective Fred Mills said the suspects already had taken $15,000
from the Spanish-speaking man when they returned for more money
Monday morning.
Mills said there have been about 12 similar cases in the past
year in San Jose and several others in Mountain View, San Mateo
and Salinas. He said investigators are trying to determine if Burgos-Rivera
and Serrano are suspects in the other scams.
Both suspects were arraigned on charges of fraud, grand theft
and elder abuse and remain in county jail on $100,000 bail each.
Winning number lottery scam costs Greenlawn woman $7,000
01/08 - NY - The title of a Wednesday news release from Suffolk
County police detectives says it all: "Lottery scam still
raking in victims."
Now Second Squad detectives have released a bank surveillance
photo of a man they say is one of a group of con artists who tricked
a Greenlawn woman into handing over $7,000.
The detectives are asking the public's help in tracking down the
alleged scammer, who is shown in the photo at a bank teller's window.
The swindle revolved around a purported $340 million lottery ticket
that turned out, of course, to be bogus.
It started at 3 p.m. on Jan. 7 when the Greenlawn woman, 21, was
waiting for a bus on Jericho Turnpike in Commack. She was approached
by a woman who asked for directions, and as they talked a small
maroon car stopped nearby. Inside the car were another woman and
a man, who started a conversation with the first woman.
At this point, the trap was laid.
"The first woman had a piece of paper in her hand and said
it was a winning lottery ticket worth $340 million. The woman said
she needed to pay $15,000 in taxes in order to pick up the cash," a
Second Squad detectives' report said.
"The man said he could raise $8,000 and asked if the victim
could get the other $7,000," the report said.
"The woman with the ticket agreed to split the $340 million
with them. They drove to the Astoria Savings Bank in Huntington
and withdrew the $7,000."
The victim gave the money to the man, and that's the last she
saw of her cash -- or of the three swindlers, who immediately drove
off, police said.
The man in the photo was described as in his 40s, about 5 feet
7 inches, with a heavy build.
Newsday.com
Police Beat: NY - 05/06 - Area residents are urged to be wary
of tricksters playing confidence games in the 114th Police Precinct.
On Thursday, May 11, a complainant walked into the precinct on
Astoria Boulevard South and 34th Street, stating she was approached
by someone who was asking for help in finding an address.
This
person then offered the victim a winning lottery ticket in exchange
for money and jewelry. The victim gave this person $580 in currency
and approximately $30,000 in jewelry.
In return, she was given
a bag that turned out to be full of paper. She later discovered
the lottery ticket was a fraud.
More lottery scam info at:
Latin Lotto Scam Warning, Lottery Scams, Lotto Fraud, Nigerian Lottery Scams, Fake Lottery Tickets, Jamaican Lottery Scams.
|
