Florida woman loses $40,000 in lottery ticket scam

Dec 5, 2008, 4:42 pm (25 comments)

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PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. — A South Florida elderly woman was scammed out of thousands of dollars in an alleged lottery ticket scam, police said.

Pembroke Pines police said that on Oct. 24 Aydee Suarez-Ospina, 72, was approached by the a Hispanic man and woman at the Bravo Supermarket at 12141 Pembroke Road. Police said the man told Suarez-Ospina that he was in possession of a winning lottery ticket and needed assistance in claiming the prize because he was not a U.S. citizen.

The female suspect, pretending to overhear the conversation, approached and offered her assistance, police said.

The two convinced Suarez-Ospina that the lottery ticket was real and that she would have to sponsor the male suspect with $40,000 to win $78,000, according to police.

Suarez-Ospina then drove the two to her bank, Bank United at 17011 Miramar Pkwy, where she withdrew $40,000, police said.

After leaving the bank, the man pretended to be ill and when Suarez-Ospina stopped at a store to purchase medicine, both suspects fled from the area with the victim's money.

Suarez-Ospina was left with an envelope containing shredded paper, police said.

According to police, the scam is a common scenario referred to as the "pigeon drop," where the suspects work in pairs and befriend the unsuspecting citizen, the "pigeon," claiming to have either a large sum of money or a winning Lotto ticket.

Immigration status is the common reason used for not being able to claim the prize. As the first suspect is talking with the victim, the second suspect approaches and gets involved, police said.

One of the suspects will go to a phone and call a lawyer or a lottery official to further convince the victim. With the confirmation, the victim contributes money as well as the suspect by putting the money into a bag or envelope.

The victim is usually allowed to hold the bag, however a switch is made and the victim is left with a bag of blank or shredded paper.

Police are warning residents, especially if they are elderly, to be watchful of such schemes and not go with anyone promising lottery winnings.

Residents should report any fraud, scam, rip-off or suspicious activity to their local law enforcement agency.

Police said the Hispanic man is between 30 and 35 years old. He is approximately 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs about 120 pounds and has brown hair. He was last seen wearing a beige shirt and black pants.

The Hispanic woman is between 25 and 30 years old. She is approximately 5 fee six inches, weighs 160 pounds and has brown hair.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact the Pembroke Pines Police Department Detective Bureau at 954-431-2225 or call Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

NBC6

Comments

RJOh's avatarRJOh

I've read about similar scams several times before in LP news.

Elderly NJ man victim of lottery scam
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/96427

Elderly Woman Loses $10,000 In Lottery Scam
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/84667

Woman loses $2,800 in lottery scam
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/82656

Any more in this country, every time someone asks for your money, it's likely they are trying to scam you.

DC81's avatarDC81

I can't believe the bank just let her withdraw that much, just like that and all in cash??? Certainly someone at the bank would have at least asked why one would take out 40K in cash just like that...

JackpotWanna's avatarJackpotWanna

Quote: Originally posted by DC81 on Dec 5, 2008

I can't believe the bank just let her withdraw that much, just like that and all in cash??? Certainly someone at the bank would have at least asked why one would take out 40K in cash just like that...

Ouch! That got to hurt!  I always tell my mom, when someone ask her for money, she has to tell them she has to contact her son!  This hopefully will scare them off. 

Todd's avatarTodd

Quote: Originally posted by RJOh on Dec 5, 2008

I've read about similar scams several times before in LP news.

Elderly NJ man victim of lottery scam
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/96427

Elderly Woman Loses $10,000 In Lottery Scam
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/84667

Woman loses $2,800 in lottery scam
https://www.lotterypost.com/news/82656

Any more in this country, every time someone asks for your money, it's likely they are trying to scam you.

I agree.  Check the Related Stories box above for more.  Or so a Search for "Scam".

sorensonfan41

*sigh*  It's unbelievable seeing the nerve of some people these days......scamming elderly people like that. Roll Eyes

ohiopick3's avatarohiopick3

That is a terrible thing to happen to anyone! And right before Christmas!

I hope that "5 foot 5 inch 120 pounder" gets his butt kicked really good by someone soon!

Hopefully by his jailmates!

charmed7's avatarcharmed7

The worlds dummiest criminals,  I think someone ask Todd to set-up

a section for them.

Think's avatarThink

Proof again that if you are going to steal then you should steal billions.  Because if you steal $40,000 they will come for you and you will need to have your own money to bail yourself out.

However if you steal $40,000,000,000 then they will send you bailout money and you can then spend time at a $5000 per day resort.

 

Seriously though the crooks probably are illegals in the first place.  They violated the law to get here so why should the law stop them after they are already here?

Any bets that if they are caught they will just get deported?

MaddMike51

Quote: Originally posted by charmed7 on Dec 5, 2008

The worlds dummiest criminals,  I think someone ask Todd to set-up

a section for them.

I did.But I was talking about stupid criminals that got caught because of their greediness and stupidity.Storys like this where criminals take advantage of the elderly & the poor just break my heart.Anyone that would do this to an old woman,or man,deserves to be sentenced to hard time for a very long time!

mayan27's avatarmayan27

THESE SCAMS SHOULD BE BROADCASTED DAILY ON THE NEWS FOR CITIZENS NATION WIDE TO SEE LIKE CHRIS HANSON{NBC} "TO CATCH A PREDATOR".HOPE THEY GET CAUGHT SOON

DC81's avatarDC81

Quote: Originally posted by ohiopick3 on Dec 5, 2008

That is a terrible thing to happen to anyone! And right before Christmas!

I hope that "5 foot 5 inch 120 pounder" gets his butt kicked really good by someone soon!

Hopefully by his jailmates!

This guy would be lucky if all they did was kick his backside.

DC81's avatarDC81

Quote: Originally posted by sorensonfan41 on Dec 5, 2008

*sigh*  It's unbelievable seeing the nerve of some people these days......scamming elderly people like that. Roll Eyes

I dunno if I'd say "these days". This sort of thing has been going on for decades. Cons and snake oil salesmen are always looking for their next mark, case in point, Kevin Trudeau is still out there hocking over priced books and ripping people off when he should be in prison. He recently received another nice smack down from the FTC and is going to eventually spar us from seeing his face for three years. Only thing is he bought a ton of ad time so his terrible infomercials are still going to be airing for awhile. Then there's that Klee guy shilling "colon health products", you know at least Trudeau puts some effort to look less like a sleaze bag. But that guy (with his wonderful BS info) has that stereotypical look of someone you shouldn't buy things from. Anyway, my point is that these kind people are pretty much everywhere, on the streets, on TV, on the internet, in Congress and they all rely upon the same old tactics, you really gotta watch yourself and not just buy into what anyone says, even family, which I'm sure many of us have that one relative (or two) that you always need to keep an eye on when they're around.

sirbrad's avatarsirbrad

Quote: Originally posted by DC81 on Dec 5, 2008

I can't believe the bank just let her withdraw that much, just like that and all in cash??? Certainly someone at the bank would have at least asked why one would take out 40K in cash just like that...

It is none of their business. It is my money and no one has any right to question how much I take out. Especially if it is not earning interest. It must be nice to have $40,000 to withdraw on a whim.

DC81's avatarDC81

Quote: Originally posted by sirbrad on Dec 6, 2008

It is none of their business. It is my money and no one has any right to question how much I take out. Especially if it is not earning interest. It must be nice to have $40,000 to withdraw on a whim.

I didn't realize you were a 72 year old woman named Aydee Suarez-Ospina.

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