Band of California lottery scammers dismantled
Chula Vista police and local District Attorney investigators helped Los Angeles authorities break a so-called “Latin lotto scam”, in which four subjects allegedly persuaded at least 10 Hispanic women of age advanced to be given money and other valuables as collateral for charging existing “winning” lottery tickets, authorities said last Monday.
According to court records, a victim in the case of Chula
Vista withdrew $ 14,000 from his bank account he planned to give to the
suspects before realizing he was probably being scammed.
A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted the four
alleged scammers earlier this month on charges of electronic fraud. The four
suspects are Colombian citizens, three women of 38, 43, and 68, and a
49-year-old man, who lived in the Los Angeles area.
One of the defendants was captured in August in San Diego
and initially charged in a state court, before those charges were dropped and
prosecuted under a federal case.
The accusation specifically charges the quartet with frauds
committed against six victims, although authorities say they have linked the
group with scams of at least 10 victims in Chula Vista, Long Beach and at least
seven other cities in southern California in the past two years.
“Latin lottery scams”
California Lottery officials and judicial agencies throughout the state have issued on these so-called “Latin lottery scams” in the past.
The authorities explain that it is a scheme executed mainly
by scammers from Central and South America, aimed at elderly Spanish-speaking
US citizens.
The victim of Chula Vista, 74, was approached earlier this
year by one of the now detained, who said she was looking for help to collect a
winning lottery ticket. Subsequently, another defendant approached both of them
claiming to be a social worker who could help.
The woman who claimed to be the social worker called a
number supposedly of the winning lottery ticket, the person who answered, a
man, told the victim that the ticket was real, but lottery officials needed $
20,000 in advance before releasing the prize.
The victim agreed to pay a sum of the advance to obtain part
of the earnings; However, after the suspects took the older woman to a Wells
Fargo bank branch and she withdrew $ 14,000, she realized that it was a scam.
Allegedly, the suspects tried to grab the victim while she
was leaving the car in which they were traveling. A witness noticed the
situation and ran to help him.
“It is important that we detain these financial
predators, especially when targeting elderly victims within the Spanish-speaking
community,” said Summer Stephan, San Diego County District Attorney,
through a statement.
If convicted, the accused could reach a sentence of up to 20
years in jail.
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The post Band of California lottery scammers dismantled appeared first on Top 10 Best Online Lotto.
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