Local News in Brief : Santa Ana : ‘Shell Game’ Is One You Can’t Win, Police Warn

A group of Los Angeles-based con men are operating a “shell game” on streets in the downtown area, swindling up to $1,000 per game from area residents, police warned Thursday.

For about a month, police have received increasing reports of men ripping off passers-by who bet on the game, Santa Ana police spokeswoman Maureen Thomas said. In the game, a con man uses a foam ball and three baby food jar lids, and asks people to guess which lid the ball is under.

“It’s a fraud game they can’t win,” Thomas said “The ball isn’t under any of the lids; it’s in the guy’s hand.”

Santa Ana police have scheduled a news conference today at noon in the police substation at 409 E. Forest St. to make people aware of the problem.

Thomas said the Police Department wants to remind people that it is illegal to play the game, and emphasize that those who do play have no chance of winning.

Thomas said that con artists are getting more people to play, particularly in the Latino community. She said players are betting between $5 and $1,000 on games.

Most of the games are set up on street corners in the downtown shopping area, she said, adding:

“We’ve received a lot of complaints from local merchants because of the people congregating in front of their stores.”

So far, police have arrested about 15 suspects in connection with such games, Thomas said. But many use lookouts, she added, making it difficult to catch them in the act.

Thomas said police don’t really have an accurate count on the victims because many of the victims won’t report their losses.