Oxnard Woman, 72, Loses $15,000 in Lottery Ticket Scam
A 72-year-old Oxnard woman was bilked out of $15,000 Monday by two suspects who scammed her into buying a worthless lottery ticket, Oxnard police said.
The woman was approached about noon in the parking lot of a store on 5th Street and Ventura Road by a woman claiming to have a winning lottery ticket. Speaking through a translator--a co-conspirator--the younger woman said she had a ticket worth $80,000 but couldn’t claim her prize because she is an illegal immigrant, police said. She offered to sell the ticket for $15,000.
The older woman drove the woman and her male companion to the bank and withdrew $15,000. The woman reported the scam to police after the two suspects fled with her money.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” Oxnard Cmdr. Chuck Hookstra said.
The suspect is described as Latina, 5 feet, 3 inches tall and 120 pounds. The male suspect is about 5 feet, 5 inches tall and 150 pounds. Both are described as about 35. The woman claimed to be from Panama, police said.
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