Police Warn of Trio Working Lottery Scam

Eight women in the High Desert and the Santa Clarita Valley have fallen victim to a trio of con artists who have swindled them out of thousands of dollars in a state lottery ticket scam, authorities said Friday.

The swindlers are two women and a man who have hit the victims at several big supermarkets in Victorville and the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys since September, said Deputy Henry Garza, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. They target elderly women, he said.

During the encounters, one of the female con artists approaches an unsuspecting shopper and asks the victim if she will cash in a winning Lotto ticket because the “winner” doesn’t have an identification card, Garza said.

Then a second woman con artist approaches and offers to help. The two then ask the victim to show she has money of her own and won’t steal the ticket, Garza said.

The three women then drive to a bank and have the victim withdraw money or go to the victim’s house to get jewelry, Garza said.

The con artists put the money or jewelry and the ticket in a small green bag while concealing a second similar bag full of paper.

On the way back to the store, one of the con artists pretends to be feeling ill and they stop at a convenience store to get aspirin, according to authorities. They send the victim into the shop--giving her the paper-filled bag.

When the victim comes out of the store, the swindlers have left, Garza said.

He said one woman alone lost about $10,000.

A male suspect has been seen in some of the incidents walking behind the two women and talking to them, according to authorities.