MIAMI, Fla. – A woman claiming to be a lottery jackpot winner scammed a senior citizen out of $19,000 and now investigators are looking for the fraudster and her female accomplice to put them behind bars.
The elderly victim was approached in the parking lot of a local supermarket, according to The Miami-Dade Police Department, Organized Crime Bureau.
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The woman told the victim that she was a lottery jackpot winner, but she could not cash the ticket because of her immigration status.
She then asked the victim for cash in exchange for the jackpot prize all the while promising the elderly woman that everything would be documented with an attorney.
The woman and a female accomplice who had joined her were able to convince the elderly victim to let them drive her to her house and get the cash. They told her they would then all return to the supermarket. The senior citizen gave the woman the money at her home, then the scammers drove the woman back to the supermarket parking lot. According to investigators, they told the victim to get out of the car while they parked.
They never returned.
A Miami-Dade Police Department forensic sketch artist was able to produce an image of one of the females involved in the crime.
Detectives are asking for help in finding the lottery scammers. Anyone with information should call Miami-Dade Crimestoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).